Reconnect Kingdom Hearts
by janus-juan
Summary: Sora and company must go on an adventure to help all those people who are hurting. Will they be able to succeed or will they die trying?
1. Blank Points

**Ventus: Happy Halloween! *starts eating from a bag full of candy***

**JAM: Urgh…I feel so indecisive right now.**

**Sora: Why?**

**JAM: After watching the new secret ending for KH Re:Coded, I had some ideas on what might happen. I already have another story that shows my idea for KH3 but I started it before BBS came out, so I am going to make this one.**

**Kairi: Does that mean you'll stop writing the other one?**

**JAM: No, I'll be continuing that story. At least for now. I'll try for writing 2 stories at once but not sure how it will turn out. Anyway here is **_**Reconnect. Kingdom Hearts.**_ **But first, Aqua disclaimer!**

**Aqua: Janus-Juan doesn't own anything except for the plot, barely.**

**JAM: Hey! **

*****Warning, contains spoilers from the English version of KH BBS and the Japanese version of Re:coded. It will be changed when the English version comes out.*****

**Chapter 1: Blank Points**

_**Two who were never meant to meet.**_

The push and pull of the waves were soothing to the hooded man sitting on a rock. He was contemplating on the subject at hand. He had found himself in this place that lacks any source of light except for the moon in the horizon. Time seems to have escaped him. Has it been days, months, or even years since he arrived?

_Step…Step…Step…_

The hooded figure was too deep in his thoughts that he didn't hear someone walking toward him.

_Step…Step…Step…Stop_

The walking figure came to a halt right next to him. "Who are you?" it asked the man. The figure's voice was that of a woman. This question seemed to break him from his mind. He turned to the speaker.

It was a woman with short, blue hair and blue eyes that had a ring of purple around them. She was wearing a black and blue, high-collared halter top, with two pink, intersecting belts over her chest, which was held by a silver badge, and black shorts. On her arms were white bell-sleeves and tan, fingerless gloves. She also wore a small, segmented piece of armor on each of her upper arms. She wore black stockings on her legs which reach about halfway up her thighs, leaving a small area of bare skin on her upper thighs. Aqua also bears two strips of blue cloth that drape over either side of her hips, along with a smaller, white strip of cloth tied around her waist, draped in the same manner. Finally, she had pointed, armored, silver boots with a sharp "hook" on the outer side of each.

"Why, hello. It's not often I get visitors." He told her.

"Please, call me Aqua. Why are you sitting here all alone in the Realm of Darkness? How did you end up here?"

The hooded figure turned back to the moon. "Well, I can tell you this is my second time on these shores. But unfortunately, much like the first, I do not remember who I am or whence I came. Everything was washed away in the waves that carried me here."

"That's too bad. I know I've been here a long time," She sat down with her legs up to her chest. "wandering through the endless hours, unable to escape."

"You wish to return to your own world?"

She didn't answer but nodded her head while staring at the moon. "It's my friends. I promised I'd be there for them."

"Your friends? Somewhere, in the scraps of memories I have left, you remind me of a boy I once knew. He is very much like you. True to his friends and kind. This boy travels to many worlds and fights to keep the light safe."

This puzzled her. "Keep the light safe? I've been away too long. Did something happen out there? Are the worlds in danger?"

"Sad to say, they fell to darkness more than once. But at every turn, that boy arrived with Keyblade in hand to save the day."

"Huh? Wait a sec. Is his name Terra or Ven?" she asked with hope.

They were crushed, however, when the man shook his head. "Neither of those, I'm afraid."

"_Sigh_ Should've known." She went back to staring at the moon.

"How long has it been since I met him? At least a year now, perhaps more. Back then, my heart was clouded in vengeance. I did terrible things to both him and his friends. I brought unhappiness to more than one."

This caught her attention as she turned away from the moon and toward the man. "I felt something must be done. Was that why? A means for clearing my conscience? Or perhaps out of scholarly instinct? While the boy slept his long sleep, I hid the results of my research inside him, transplanting the data to where it might best serve a purpose."

"In fact I'd like to believe he might be able to set things right. A boy like him who touches so many hearts. He could open the right door and save all those people whose lives' I've managed to ruin."

"So many are still waiting for their new beginning, their birth by sleep. Even me. And even you."

She felt she had to ask. "What's this boy's name?"

He searched through his fleeting memories "His name is…"

_**All the pieces lie where they fell**_

The scene switches to a two-story mansion surrounded by trees during the twilight. Or perhaps it always looks like this. We zoom into a pure white room on the second floor.

A blonde-haired teen girl, in a white dress, is busy at work, drawing in a red sketch pad. Once she finishes it, she clears away any pencil and eraser shavings. She pulls the pad at arms length as she roams the picture with her blue eyes. It is a picture of a boy sitting on a bent tree, surrounded by water, bearing a star-shaped fruit. He is staring out at the setting sun. She utters but one word: "Sora".

We are then teleported to a clock tower found in the sane atmosphere, twilight. There are three people sitting on the sill of the top of the tower, two boys and a girl, eating ice cream.

The girl and the boy sitting next to her look to be in their teens while the other boy looks to be in his twenties. The girl has short, black hair and blue eyes. The boy right next to her also has blue eyes but gravity defying blonde hair. The man has long, spiky, red hair and green eyes with tear drop tattoos right under them. They're all wearing hooded cloaks with silver beaded pull strings. They all lift their heads to look at the sun and speak a name, "Sora".

We are warped to a garden overlooking a range of mountains. There are small waterfalls running down from the upper level. It is night time and the source of light are from lamps, placed around the place, and the stars. There, on a bench in the middle of the garden, a boy is slumped down.

He looks identical to the blonde haired boy from the clock tower, except he is wearing a black high-collared shirt underneath a grey vest. Above the vest is a jacket that is black on his left side and white on the right. He is wearing black and beige baggy pants and has on armored versions of street shoes in shades of dull green and grey. The jacket has on intersecting belts with a silver badge on top. He also has a chunk of dull green and grey armor on his midsection that appears to be under his vest, and another piece of armor on his left shoulder. He has on a black-and-white wristband on his left wrist.

He seems to be asleep but he is soon awakened by a person approaching. The person is a tall young man with brown hair that reaches to the base of his neck in the back and is styled into rather messy, vertical spikes and bangs that frame his face. He has blue eyes and slightly tanned skin. He wears two intersecting straps over his chest almost resembling criss-crossed suspenders. He wears a yellow badge on his belt. He wears a skintight, black, high-collared shirt, showing that he is rather muscular. He wears hakama (traditional samurai pants). His hakama is dark grey near the top, with several loops for his belt and two buttons. The rest of the pants are tan. Terra wears a plain black wristband on his right arm, while his left arm is completely armored.

They smile at each other before turning to stare at the stars. They say the same name those before them have said, "Sora".

We finally return to the dark beach we were on before. The man is watching Aqua react to the name. She starts shedding tears of joy as she smiles at him. She turns to the horizon as she is filled with hope for the future. She echoes the name: "Sora".

_**Where they wait for him**_

This beach is the complete opposite to the dark one. The sun is beginning to set, giving the sky hues of pink, purple, and orange. The sun illuminates the face of a brown-haired teenage boy with blue eyes as he sits on a bent tree. He wears a baggy black and silver outfit, with blue, red, and gold found here and there. The pants are wrapped with yellow belts and reach down to an inch from his ankles. He has on black and yellow fingerless gloves with an X-shaped strap on top. He wears a crown necklace around his neck. He was holding onto a glass bottle and a letter with a picture of a mouse's head on it.

He was contemplating on what the letter in his hand had said and what he had to do:

_I wanted to tell you __right away…_

_about memories in the past that sleep within you, _

_And about the pieces that will tie you to your future__._

_Sora, Riku, Kairi,_

_T__he truth behind the Keyblade_ _has found its way through so many people,_

_and now I know that it rests in__ your hearts._

_Sora,_

_You are who you are because of those people, but they're hurting__._

_And you're the only one who can end their sadness__._

_They need you._

_It's possible that__ all your journeys so far,_

_have been preparing you for this great new task that's waiting for __you._

_I should have known that there are no coincidences—_

_Only links in a much larger chain of events._

_And now the door to your next journey…_

_Is ready to be opened_

-_Mickey_

"Sora." He turns around to see a silver-haired teen with aqua eyes. He has on a black zip-up tank-top and a white and yellow vest over it; his pants are a pair of baggy blue denim jeans, and he wears a simple pair of sneakers.

"Riku" he replies.

Riku walks forward to the edge of the small island. "Your mind's made up?"

"Yeah."

They basked in the warmth of the sun for a moment when an auburn haired girl walks up to them. She had periwinkle eyes. She was wearing a pink strapless mini-dress made up of three zippers as well as a white halter top underneath it with a black hood. She also sported three bracelets on her left wrist, a black belt reminiscent of suspenders with a notebook shaped bag attachment, and large lilac shoes.

"Sora." Both boys turned to look at her.

"Kairi, I…" He became downcast as he tried to explain to the girl what he had to do.

She nodded her head. "Hmmm."

This made him lift his head back up and smile at her. He walked closer to her. "It's just, they really need me. I have to go. I am who I am, because of them."

Riku chuckled at his younger friend. Kairi gave him a sad smile while sighing and grabs his right hand with her left one. She places a star-shaped shell with a smiley face drawn in the middle of it.

"See you soon." She tells him.

He gives her a comforting smile. "Don't worry; I'll be back as soon as I can." He then put the charm in his right pocket.

Riku smirked. "Only if he doesn't lazy it up out there."

"Hey what's that supposed to mean?" Sora pouted at his best friend. This caused Kairi to giggle. "Kairi," he whined.

"What?"

"Don't tell me you agree with him." His eyes pleaded for her to say no.

"Oh, don't worry I don't." He relaxed a little. "_Lazy Bum."_ She burst into giggles with Riku following after he saw how Sora started bouncing in his spot, resembling a certain duck mage.

"I knew it. I knew it. You're both conspiring against me." Unknown to Sora, he didn't see a small star-shaped fruit on the ground below him as he moved around in circles and accidentally slipped on it, falling off the islet and into the freezing cold water. He sputtered from it as he scrambled to stand up. He began shivering by the wind but soon his checks colored up pinking hue as he saw what became of the fruit.

It seems that when he slipped on it, the Paopu Fruit went up into the air and landed right on Kairi's outstretched hands. This caused her to blush while Riku started wailing in laughter and hold his sides as he tried to control himself.

"Great going, Romeo. But don't you think it's a little forward?" Riku mocked the soaked through Keyblade Bearer. His and Kairi's blush seems to intensify and they looked like they were growing tomatoes on their faces.

"Well, uh…Hey would you look at the time." Sora looked his left wrist, pretending there was a watch there. "It's really late and my mom will kill me if I don't get home soon." He began to run toward his parked boat at the end of the docks. "I'll see you guys later."

"Oh, and I forgot something I had to do something…over there!" She said pointing at the direction of the shack. "Bye Riku. Bye Sora!" she yelled over her shoulder as she disappeared inside, not realizing she still held the Paopu in her arms.

Riku was now left alone on the islet. He shook his head muttering something about "hopeless" and then turned back to see the sun finally set and the moon rise showing that the night has begun.

**With Kairi:**

Her heart hammered in her chest as she clutched the little star-shaped fruit to it. She managed to regulate her breathing before a voice in her head startled her.

_**Well, that was interesting. **_She heard silent giggles echo in her mind.

_It's not funny, __Naminé. _Kairi told her Nobody. The same blonde-haired girl from the mansion appeared in front of Kairi, only she was all see through. This past year she and Naminé have grown closer to the point that they consider themselves sisters.

_**Actually it is. I mean, come on the fruit landed right in your hands. **_

"Giggle…I guess you're right."

_**And the way he acted when he saw it; priceless**_

"I don't know, I think it was kind of cute."

_**Somebody has a crush on the Keyblade Master. **_Naminé grinned as she got the desired affect. Kairi blushed pink. _**If you don't stop people will think you're sick, giggle. **_

Kairi's cheeks darkened crimson.

"Well what about you? Don't you have a crush on his Nobody, Roxas?"It was Naminé turn to blush as she heard her crush's name. "Payback is sweet, isn't it?"

Before she could reply, Kairi's bag started ringing. "Oh," she picked inside her bag and fished out a pink cell phone. She looked at the screen and told Naminé to be quiet. "It's my mom. Hello, mom? Oh, I'm just on the play island. Yes, I know it's late…Fine I'll be there soon…I love you too. Bye." She clicked the end call button and turned back to Naminé. "We have to go home, Mom is worrying about me." The blonde in question nodded and shut her eyes. A second later both girls glew golden and only Kairi was there.

"Alright let's go."

**With Sora:**

Sora was cooped up in his room, thinking about a certain auburn haired girl. He could feel blood rush to his cheeks as he thought of how the sun illuminated her face and how her eyes sparkled when she giggled at him. Though she was mocking him, he still found her laughter as sweet sounding as church bells.

_**Why don't you just tell her how you feel, already?**_

_It's not that easy, Roxas. _As soon as he said this, the spiky, blond teen came out and sat on a chair near the computer on the desk. The difference was that he was no longer wearing his hooded cloak but was wearing something more casual.

He wore a black, high-collared jacket with a zipper resembling the Nobody symbol. Over this, he wore another jacket, this one unzipped and white, with several black block designs and a grey hem on the end of each sleeve. This jacket's collar was red and pleated and folded back. Roxas also wore two-colored pants; the legs of his pants were beige with several buttons that appeared to attach the legs to the rest of the cloth, which were black. His shoes were colored in shades of grey and black, and had red straps instead of laces. Finally, Roxas wore a wrist band with a black-and-white checkerboard pattern on his left wrist.

_**That's what you think. All you have to do is go up to her and say "Kairi, I love you."**_

"I can't just tell her. What if she doesn't feel the same way?"

_**Aw, come on. I bet if a stranger saw the both of you together for more than 5 minutes and **__**he'll see just how much you two love each other.**_

"Yeah, well…"

"Sora?" A knock came from outside the bedroom door. "Is everything okay in there?" The doorknob began to rattle as the person outside tried to open the door.

"Uh-oh. Roxas, you need to disappear for now. I still haven't told my mom about you." Roxas nodded and then they both glew blue and then he disappeared. Just in time, too, as the door opened inward. The force startled Sora so much that he fell onto the floor. He looked up to the confused gaze of his mother, Ava. She was an average sized woman with shoulder length chestnut hair and mesmerizing blue eyes.

"Who were you just talking to? And why are you on the floor?" Ava asked her teenage son.

_**Sora**__**, say something.**_

"Uhh…"

_**Smooth…**_

Sora ignored his Other as he stared at his mother stupidly.

"Were you talking to Riku or Kairi again?" Ava asked him. This question gave Sora an escape to his predicament.

"Uh, yeah. We were choosing when to meet up tomorrow."

"Oh, okay. But don't forget, before you leave you have to clear your room or else you can't go." She told him sternly.

"Yes, mom. _Yawn…_Man am I tired. I think I'm going to turn in early. Goodnight mom."

He placed himself under the covers of his bed and turned so that his back was to Ava. _Snore…Snore…Snore… _Sora pretended to fall asleep for a minute before he heard the door close as his mom left the room. Once she left, he bolted out of bed and began to panic. His room looked like a clothes tornado ran through it. His closet was overflowing by his toys from when he was a kid since he didn't have the heart to part with them.

"Great, this is going to take me all night to clean up. _Sigh _Oh well might as well get started." He said to himself as he picked up a dirty sock and placed it in the hamper.

**JAM: Well I guess it's a start. **

**Riku: Not much really happened. **

**JAM: Hey! I had to start somewhere. **

**Riku: Yeah, yeah, yeah whatever you say.**

**JAM: *glares* Anyway, that's it for this chapter. I hope to have the next chapter really soon. Oh and before I forget, descriptions of characters were all thanks to KH Wiki. **

**Naminé****: Don't forget to review. **

**Edit: Mickey's letter has been changed to fit what the English version of Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded had given us. **


	2. Visions and Departure

**Ven: Happy Halloween! *eats even more candy***

**JAM: You said that last chapter. **

**Ven: I know, but I love Halloween! *finishes a Crunch Bar in one bite***

**JAM: OK, I think you've had a **_**little **_**too much candy. *tries to steal bag from Ven***

**Ven: No, my candy. Get away. *Ven runs away from JAM and runs out of the room***

**JAM: Ven, get back here! Ugh, Vanitas go and stop Ven from eating all that candy. **

**Vanitas: With pleasure. *He runs after Ven, laughing maniacally while carrying a chainsaw***

**JAM: Don't kill him! This can't end well. Either way here is Chapter 2 of the story. Kairi, disclaimer please.**

**Kairi: Janus-Juan doesn't own anything except the plot, barely. **

**JAM: Again, Hey!**

*****Warning: This chapter contains spoilers on the new Kingdom Hearts Re: Coded secret ending*****

**JAM: Enjoy!**

**Chapter 2: Visions and Departure**

"There, finally done." Sora was putting away the last of his clothes as his room was finally clean. It was now 6:44 in the morning and Sora was extremely tired after a full night of cleaning.

_**Shhh, I'm trying to sleep in here!**_

"_Yawn _Sleep sounds really good right now." He went back to his bed and under the covers. He only just closed his eyelids when the alarm clock beside his bed started buzzing really loudly, causing him to fall to the ground. He grabbed a hold of the alarm clock and chugged it at the wall while groaning in annoyance. "Can't believe I forgot to turn off the alarm." He went back to his original and went to sleep.

A leaning tower stood ominously on an island in the middle of nowhere. There was nothing around except for yellow tinted water and some shrubbery around the tower. Sora finds himself right outside the double doors that leads inside the tower. "Yen Sid's Tower? What am I doing here?" Sora asked himself as he entered through the doorway. Instead of being in the lobby, he found himself in Yen Sid's chambers. The wizard was sitting tall on his chair while there was someone in front of him. 

The other person was not even human! He was a giant-sized mouse wearing a short-sleeved jacket with white lining. The top half of this jacket is black, while the bottom half is red, and there are two yellow straps dangling in front of it. His pants are red and sport a zipper going down the front of each leg. Each leg also has a yellow pouch with a black strap that partially cover the zipper, as well as a blue strap on the outer side of each pant leg. Mickey wears very large, yellow shoes with grey backs and two orange, intersecting straps attached to the front of each shoe.

"Your Majesty!" Sora shouted and waved at the Mouse King. He didn't seem to have heard him as he stared at the ground. Sora placed his arms on his sides but then noticed something. He was as see-through as a ghost. _Well that explains why they can't hear me, _he thought.

The King, Mickey, lifted his head and looked at Yen Sid, the wizard. "Yen Sid! I think we're finally close to figuring out where Ven's heart is." _Ven, why does that name sound familiar?_

"Is that so?" Yen Sid remarked, "Then that only leaves Terra."

"Right. And we've got to save all three of them." Mickey said with enthusiasm.

"Hmm…The question is, what does Xehanort intend to do next?"

_Xehanort? But how can that be? _Sora was perplexed as to what the wizard was saying.

It seems Mickey held the same sentiments as him. "Xehanort? But his two halves are gone. There was Ansem, who commanded the Heartless, and Xemnas, who commanded the Nobodies. Didn't Sora defeat them both?"

"Correct. Those two met their end. However, there in lies exactly our problem. Their destruction now guarantees the original's reconstruction."

"Huh?" _Huh?_

"Xehanort's heart, one seized by his Heartless half, is now free. And his body, which had become his Nobody, has been vanquished. Both halves will now be returned to the whole. In short, this means Master Xehanort will return." _Wait who's __**Master **__Xehanort?_

"And you think…You think he's going to try something?"

"A man like Xehanort will have left many roads open."

"Well, it doesn't matter what he cooks up. Me and Sora—we'll be ready. And Riku, too." _That's right!_

"Yes, they are indeed strong. But not true Keyblade Masters like you. Tell me…Will a single one of you suffice if what you faced was not a single one of _him_?"

Mickey went into deep shock as he crashed his hands on the desk between the two. "What? What do you mean?"

Yen Sid didn't answer the question but instead changed the subject. "Mickey, please summon Sora hither. Riku as well" Yen Sid stared into empty space as if thinking.

Mickey gave the wizard in front of him a confused look. "Of course. But why?"

Yen Sid turned right back to his former pupil, seriousness written all over his face. "To show us the Mark of Mastery."

Before anything else could be said, Sora felt a pull on his body and a second later all he saw was black.

"Sora! Breakfast's ready." Sora awoke to his mother's call for breakfast. He felt a bit disoriented from the dream he just had. _But was it really a dream or something else?_

"Sora! You better hurry before it gets cold!" He quickly got out of bed as his mother called again him to the dining room to eat his breakfast. But as he did, he still worried over what the dream might mean for them.

**After Breakfast**

Sora was stepping out of his house and into the crisp island air. The wind was soothing as the salt-filled air filled his nostrils. Man, he still couldn't get used to the fact that he was home after all those years of fighting for his life. Returning to normalcy was really hard for him and Riku, especially with the subject of school. He swears he would rather fight a horde of Heartless than go to school. Luckily school was out for the summer.

But the calm atmosphere didn't stop them from staying in tip-top shape. In fact, everyday after school, they met up at the play island and sparred for 2 hours, with Kairi joining in on the fun once in a while.

Sora wasn't right with the idea of her learning how to fight. _What if you get hurt? _He told her once but the glare she gave him made him keep his opinions to himself. Why you ask? It's because it makes her feel like he thinks that she can't handle herself. And she didn't want him thinking that.

He sighed as he made his way to the docks. Once he got there he took notice that his friends boats were still there, which was weird. He had called them to tell to meet him at the play island in 10 minutes, but got their machines. Both Kairi and Riku only lived about a 2 minute walk from the docks while Sora a good 7 minutes away. That's why he was always the last to arrive there. Why was he now the first one there?

_This doesn't make any sense. _Sora thought to himself but pushed the thought aside as he began to untie his boat from the dock. Suddenly he heard running footsteps coming from behind him. He turned around and saw the silver head of his best friend from the distance. He stood up and waited for Riku to get there. Once he arrived, Riku had to stop and take a breather.

"Hey Riku. Um, why are you so out of breath?" Sora asked the tired 17-year-old.

"_Gasp…_The King…_gasp_…he's…_gasp…_here." Riku explained while trying to catch his breath.

"Really? Are Donald and Goofy here too?" Sora asked eagerly.

"Yep, they're all at the Mayor's house with Kairi." The Mayor was Kairi's adoptive father since she arrived on Destiny Island's 12 years ago. He is very overprotective of her, especially from boys. And boy does he scare Sora to death.

"Oh. That's great." Sora said a bit crestfallen at the idea of seeing Kairi's father again.

"Yeah and what's better is the Mayor isn't home so you don't have to face his wrath. At least for today." Riku knew how scary the Mayor could be but he seemed to hate Sora more than any of the other boys Kairi's met over the years. Could have something to do with their uncanny attraction to one another.

"Well, then what are we waiting for." This bit of news brightened up the brunette's spirits as he sprinted off toward Kairi's house.

"Hey, wait up!" Riku yelled to his friend. "Great, more running." Riku muttered to himself before running off after the hyper Keyblade Master.

Kairi's house was a large, white, two-story mansion with many tall windows. It had two columns supporting a porch, where a rocking chair lay. The front yard was covered in all sorts of flowers, each one a color of the rainbow. Kairi's mother, Lynn, was out watering the flowers when Sora and Riku reached the gate surrounding the house. She waved a hand to the guards, telling them to open the gate and to let them in.

"Hello boys. Kairi's in the parlor."

"Thank you Mrs. Hikari" Sora said before walking through the door into the inside. When they went in, they marveled at how magnificent the house was. The walls were colored beige and the roof was white. On the roof hung a beautiful crystallized chandelier. To the right of the door, a spiral staircase stood, leading to the second floor above.

They were brought back into reality as the butler, Jeeves, directed them to the parlor. Once there, Sora was tackled to the ground by a blur of blue and green. "Sora! We missed you so much." The blurs shouted. They turned out to be an anthropomorphic duck and dog that were hugging the daylights out of the Keyblade Master.

The duck is has white plumage, a yellow-orange bill, legs of the same color, light blue eyes, and a short tuft of feathers on his head, visible under his hat. His blue beret has a belt in place of a normal brim, and sports a zipper that spans the length of the hat. His high-collared jacket is navy blue with sky blue lining and cuffs. There are three pouches, all of which are blue with yellow lining, along the middle of the jacket. He has a short, blue cape with yellow lining that he wears draped over his shoulders, kept in place by a silver strap. He also wears a thick, gold bangle on each of his wrists. He isn't wearing any pants.

The dog had black fur and floppy ears. He has two bucked teeth and three short hairs coming out of the top of his head, just in front of his hat. His hat is orange. There is a small pair of red goggles around the bottom of the hat as well. He wears a green turtleneck sweater with sleeves that bell out slightly and. He wears white gloves. Over the sweater, he wears a sleeveless, black combat vest with grey lining and four pockets of the same color. His pants are yellow with the bottom rims being dark orange, pulled upward in the front by a brown strap. Finally, he has very large shoes which are brown with steel toes on the outside.

"Donald! Goofy! Boy, have I missed you guys." Sora exclaimed while hugging the animals back just as strong. After a while they stopped because they hugged each other so hard, they couldn't breathe.

"Welp, now that everyone is here, we should start the meeting." King Mickey said from the red sofa he was sitting in. Kairi was sitting opposite him on a sofa of her own.

"Hello, King Mickey. How is everything going on at Disney Castle?" Sora asked the monarch as he sat on the sofa on the right side of Kairi with Riku on her left side. Donald Duck sat on the right of Mickey with Goofy on the left.

"Oh don't be so formal. You can just call me Mickey. That goes for you too Riku and Kairi. As for Disney Castle, it's doing just fine. The Dream Festival is open for business again." Mickey told them.

"Dream Festival?" Kairi asked the Disney trio.

"The Dream Festival is a festival that we hold every year where the whole town votes for the most popular citizen to win a prize called the Million Dreams Award. Each year, we give something different to that year's winner." Donald explained.

"But that's not why we're here." Mickey interrupted. "We've come to talk to you about your upcoming quest."

This sparked something in Sora. "Oh, that reminds me. Mickey, who is Master Xehanort?"

Mickey was suddenly frozen up in fear. "Where did you hear that name?" His voice was kind of raspy as he asked this.

Sora then told them about what he had dreamt about the night before. Once he was finished, he saw that Mickey was deep in thought.

Finally he spoke: "Well, then now that that's out of the way, all we have to do is explain a couple of things. First off Master Xehanort was a Keyblade Master that fell to the Darkness about 12 years ago. He had devised a way to capture Kingdom Hearts by separating his apprentice into two parts: His Light, Ventus, and his Darkness, Vanitas. They were to merge back and create the X-Blade, a weapon that could be used to open Kingdom Hearts. He almost succeeded if it wasn't for me and another Keyblade Master, Aqua, who managed to defeat Vanitas, who was controlling Ventus at the time. But the victory wasn't won without some casualties. We lost both Terra, a friend to both Ven and Aqua, and Ven's heart disappeared off the radar."

"But Mickey, I heard you say that you know where his heart is."

"That's right, Sora; after an expedition through Jiminy's Journal we have finally found out where it is."

"Well, where is it?" Riku asked impatiently.

Mickey pointed at Sora. "It's inside you, Sora." Everyone except Mickey gasped at this but of news.** (1)** Mickey then told everyone about what happened in the journal, all about how Data Sora managed to fix the bug problem, which in fact was a side effect of Naminé's attempt to restore Sora's memories. Also how they learned that Sora has to save Roxas, Naminé, Xion, Axel, Ven, Aqua, and Terra.

"Naminé is this true?" Kairi asked her Nobody counterpart. Naminé appeared right in between the two sofas so that everyone could see her while she spoke.

"It's true. After Sora, Donald, and Goofy closed the door to Kingdom Hearts, they walked into a crossroads where this Organization member named Marluxia lured them to their stronghold in Castle Oblivion. There they went up the stairs after he told them that the people he misses were there. But as they did, I was forced by both him and another member of the Organization, Larxene, into using my powers of manipulation over memories to replace their real memories with fake ones." Naminé showed a guilty expression as she finished. She was surprised as she felt Sora hug her.

"It's okay, Naminé; I already told you I forgive you."

This puzzled her. "Wait, you remember?"

"I guess I do. It's like the memories of Castle Oblivion just came back to me."

"Us too!" Donald and Goofy exclaimed at the same time, also joining in on the group hug. This caused Naminé to giggle at their enthusiasm.

"See, that's the Naminé I remember. I really liked it when you used to smile. Besides, you shouldn't be so sad. What happened, happened. So don't cry. I don't like seeing my sister-in-law so sad." He could almost feel Roxas glare at Sora. Naminé, on the other hand, could see Kairi sigh in relief, while blushing, out of the corner of her eyes.

"I guess you're right." She conceited.

"Well, now that that's out of the way, I think its best we leave right now." Mickey told the party.

"OK, just let me go get my stuff ready." Kairi said, earning confused glances from the others. Naminé took this moment to disappear back inside Kairi.

"Umm, Kairi…How do I put this?" Sora tried to explain to her that she couldn't go with them.

"Oh, no! You wouldn't dare tell me that you're still leaving me behind. I mean, even Riku gets to go." Kairi finished her sentence with a glare that caused Sora to flinch back at her anger.

"Kairi, it's not that I don't want you to go, it's just, this quest is going to be full of danger."

"So, does that mean you can put yourself into danger on a regular basis? How do you think you are going to return Ven's heart and still live to speak of it without me? Last I remember that without me, you would still be a Heartless." Kairi feels bad about using this against him, but if she wanted to go, she needed to go full out.

"But I don't want you to get hurt." Sora looked sad when he said this. Even the thought of her getting hurt brought unhappiness to his heart.

This made Kairi lose her anger. "But I won't get hurt. You and Riku have been training me this last year."

"No! I'm sorry Kairi, but I'm putting my foot down." Riku facepalmed himself as he knew this wasn't going to end well. Roxas seemed to agree with him as he told Sora: _**You probably shouldn't have said that.**_

Both were right as Kairi's anger was fueled again but this time it grew into a forest fire as her cheeks flushed red. She suddenly slapped him so hard that it left a palm print on his left cheek and echoed throughout the almost empty house. Donald, Goofy, and Riku all cringed but Sora didn't even react to it. "You know what fine! If you want to go and die out there, then fine! But just know that I won't be waiting for you to come back." Kairi stormed out of the parlor door, slamming it behind her.

"Sora?" Goofy looked up at his face to see if his friend was okay.

"I'm fine. Come on, we shouldn't be wasting time." He told his friend while also walking outside the room, a lone tear rolling down his right cheek.

The heroes were getting the Gummi Ship ready for their departure from Destiny Islands. Donald was checking to see if they had enough gasoline to make their trip while Goofy was taking care of the room situation.

Sora and Riku were waiting outside the Gummi Ship's entrance seeing the sunset one more time before their adventure actually begins.

"Well this is it, huh?" Riku asked Sora.

"Yeah." Sora was still feeling a bit down from his talk with Kairi.

"Come on, Sora. You know she didn't mean what she said. She was just angry. Besides, we'll be back before you know it and then you can make it up to her." Riku said trying to get his best friend to stop being so gloomy. That was his thing!

"I guess you're right." Sora was now staring blankly at the sunset.

_**Come on Sora, even though it pains me to say this, Riku's right. Blurgh, I can't believe I just said that. **_

This made Sora smile a little at his Nobody's hatred toward Riku. It seems he still can't get over the fact that Riku beat him up.

"Alright then, let's go." Sora said as he returned to his enthusiastic self and jumped into the opening.

"There's the Sora I know." Riku half-smiled as he followed the other into the Gummi Ship. Sora was already at the cockpit when Riku closed the door to the Gummi Ship. Sora turned on the ignition and lifted the ship off the ground. As they left the atmosphere, they didn't know that they were in for a shocker soon.

The stars were shining brightly, showing that the world that star represents was alive and well. It truly was a beautiful sight.

Sora was happy at the fact that the worlds were safe from the Heartless threat, at least for the moment. But for Sora, any second a world was out of destruction's way was better than nothing. He was basking in that thought, when he heard a rumbling noise coming from below.

"What's that noise?" Sora asked aloud.

"I don't know. Probably a pipe rumbling or something." Donald said trying to be logical.

That thought was shot out of the water when they heard a thunderous boom coming from the same place.

"I think I should go check it out." Sora told them, already putting the ship on autopilot and standing from his chair. He made his way out the door to the cockpit and down to the lower deck. He had to use a flashlight to be able to see through the dark surroundings.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" In response he heard more rumbling coming from up ahead.

"I'm warning you, I have a weapon." He summoned the _Kingdom Key_ in a flurry of lights. "Come on out or I'll make you come out." Sora tried to coax whatever it was to come out.

"1…" Sora walked forward and found the source of the noise, behind a crate.

"2…" He raised the Keyblade up above his head as he got closer.

"3!" He moved around the crate and was about to unleash the Keyblade on whoever it was when he heard a high pitched scream coming from that spot. He flashed the illuminating device on the person's face and it turned out to be—

"Kairi?"

**JAM: Dun…Dun…Dun! Looks like Kairi isn't going to be left on the islands after all.**

**Kairi: Heh-heh. Of course not. They're hopeless without me, after all. **

**JAM: Well that's it for this chapter. Hope you guys liked it. I would like to thank **KH13 **for subbing the KH Re: Coded secret movie.**

**The KH crew: We would like to wish you a very scary Halloween. Hope you like the story so far.**

**JAM: Don't forget to review. You know you want to. **

**Edit: The dialogue between Mickey and Yen Sid came directly from the English Secret Ending of KH Re:Coded. Thank you.**


	3. Defiance

**JAM :D**

**Riku: What's with him?**

**Kairi: It's his birthday today! *blows into birthday noisemaker***

**Riku: Oh, well then Happy Birthday!**

**JAM: Thank You! I have a little present for all my readers today: Chapter 3! Now let's get to the disclaimer! Sora, you know what to do.**

**Sora: Janus-Juan doesn't own anything except the plot, barely.**

**JAM: Ok, just for that, no cake for you! *brings out humongous cake***

**Sora: No! **

**Chapter 3: Defiance**

_Tick…Tock…Tick…Tock…Tick_

"What are you doing here, Kairi?" Sora asked. They were all in the cockpit of the ship, trying to get Kairi to spill.

"Better question is how did you even get in?" Donald quacked, a little dumbfounded that she even managed to get into the ship. There was supposed to be a security system to prevent this sort of thing from happening; intruders getting in without permission. He was going to have a little talk with two certain chipmunks when he got the chance.

Kairi felt a bit uncomfortable with the interrogation. Everyone's eyes on her was making her very nervous. Finally, after a while, she told them what had happened.

**Kairi's POV**

**2 Hours ago…**

I ran outside of the parlor and went up to my room. I felt very angry and hurt over the fact that I was going to be left behind while Riku and Sora went off to other worlds and put their lives on the line. Didn't they know that I could fight too? I mean what's the point of even having a Keyblade if I'm kept on the sidelines.

"Urgh, I can't believe those two. Why not just stamp worthless on my forehead?" I had tears running down my cheeks causing my makeup to run, but that really didn't matter at the moment. "Well, I won't have it; I'm going whether they want me to or not." I wiped away at my tears and stood up, heading to my closet. I rummaged through my closet, looking for things to take with me. I was packing some clothes into my large, pink, suitcase when Naminé came out, watching my actions carefully.

_**Kairi, do you think this is a good idea? **_She was always the voice of reason. Man, it got annoying sometimes.

"Don't tell me you're okay with this? What if something happens to Roxas and you weren't there to help him? How can you live with yourself knowing that you could've done something?"

She wasn't buying it though. _**Kairi, you know they can take care of themselves. So what's the real reason?**_

_I hate it when she's __right. _"Okay, fine. I just feel that Sora thinks I'm not strong enough to hold my own and worthless and I'm just afraid that he will meet someone who'll have his back better than I ever could and forget all about me." I finally finished my packing and was staring at my blonde counterpart. Naminé understood where I was coming from. So, she did what she thought was right. She looked down through the windows and spied on those below. She saw that everyone was leaving her home and going back to their own; Riku and Mickey to his house Sora, Donald and Goofy headed to Sora's house.

_**Ok. But we're going to have to be very ca**__**reful. Wouldn't want them to stop us from succeeding. **_

"Thank you." She nodded to me as she disappeared. I made my way toward the balcony that was connected to my room. I knew that if I went down the front door, Jeeves or my mom would catch me and there wasn't enough time to deal with them. Luckily, there was a tall tree right next to the balcony that we could use to reach the ground floor.

_Bombs away! _ I thought as I threw my suitcase over the balcony and watched it land on a roseberry bush down below. I then used the branches on the tree to try and balance myself as I got a good grip on the tree's trunk and climbed down. I'm so glad I wasn't afraid of heights or else I would have fainted right then and there.

When I finally reached solid ground, I made a beeline for my suitcase and ran toward the dock. I jumped into my small boat and paddled to the Play Island. I heard Donald say that the they parked the Gummi Ship at the cove of the island. _Thank you Donald. _I smirked at the duck's blunder.

I hit the cove of the Play Island so no one would spot me. I arrived before the sun began to set. Seeing the Gummi Ship right near the star-shaped tree that Sora and Riku always raced to made me run as fast as I could. There was just one problem— when I reached the front of the ship, I found out it was locked. _Bummer…_ I thought kicking the sand at my feet.

_**Um, Kairi?**_

_Yes, __Naminé?_

_**Don't you**__**, like, have a magical weapon that can open any lock?**_

I instantly facepalmed myself at my density. How could I forget about my Keyblade? I summoned Destiny's Embrace and pointed it at the panel. The tip began shining and then a small light hit the door. A second later, a click was heard and the platform lowered to the ground. I was beaming with happiness as I jumped in. All that was crushed when I passed right through a red beam of light on the ground I hadn't seen.

_BUZZ…BUZZ…BUZZ…_

An alarm blared and the room became engulfed in a red light. Suddenly, chainsaws popped up from the ground in front of me, like a wall, swaying back and forth. Up ahead, part of the floor let up into a dark pit that must've led down to the ship's holding cells. Fireballs flared up from the walls between the door at the end, which had a lazer grid blocking the exit, and the pit.

"Are you kidding me?" I huffed out in annoyance and irritation then ran forward, diving over the chainsaws, barely making over them without any scratches except for the fact that a part of my outfit was slcided off. _Great, this was one of my favorite outfits!_

I made it to the pit and looked around. As far as I could see there was only one way across. So, I went to the far left of the hole and literally hugged the wall as I shimmied to the other side. Once or twice I was caught in a tight spot and nearly fell over the edge, but I managed to keep my balance.

Finally I reached the other side. Fireballs were being sent at me at high speeds. This was obviously the work of the duck mage. _Almost there. _I hoped.

I made a dash toward the exit. A fireball came at my head, so I ducked down, causing it to fly past me and crash onto the spot behind me. I kept doing this until I reached the halfway mark.

Suddenly the fireballs stopped and I breathed out in relief. What came next surprised me even more than what I just went through. A giant bazooka like gun came straight out of the ground in front of her.

"For the love of…" I whispered under my breath as I saw the sheer size of the weapon that was being pointed at me. I raised my Keyblade up in front of me to try to block it.

"Reflect!" I screamed as the bazooka began to light up, but nothing happened.

"Reflect!" I tried again and got the same results.

"Reflect!" I hopelessly cried but still got nothing and the bazooka was about to fire any second now. _This is it…_ I thought of how my life was going to be cut short before I got a chance to do anything good. _I won't be able to drive a car or be able to tell Sora how I truly feel about him._

Sora's face appeared in my head as I thought of his ocean colored eyes and that smile he always gave me that caused my knees to buckle under me.

"REFLECT!" The words rushed out of her mouth of their own accord. A dome of hexagonal crystals materialized around me. And just in time too, as the gun shot forth a fireball the size of my body. It tried to crash through my shield, but it stayed firm. Well, at least until the darn thing exploded! It was so unexpected that I didn't know what to do as the thing broke the dome into little tiny pieces and the force catapulted me at the wall, causing my vision to get all blurry.

Groaning, I stood up and walked forward to the exit. When my vision cleared, I found another thing blocking my path. Red lasers were set up in a grid on the door, blocking me from going any further. The only way through was by inputing a password on a keypad on the right side of the door.

_This doesn't surprise me anymore_. I sighed and looked at the pad. According to it, the password had 5 letters.

"Ok, let me think. Goofy…**buzz**...Magic…**buzz**…oh what can it be?" I scratched the back of my head in confusion.

_**Oh for the love of…try Daisy. **_I heard Naminé groan. Guess I wasn't the only one tired of all this security. I plugged in the passcode D…A…I…S…Y…_**ding! **_The lasers began to flicker until they fizzed out of existence. _Yes. _I made my way through the door and found myself into what seemed to be the cargo bay. There were boxes and creates stacked up against each other, some one over another. I was about to head upstairs and hide in one of the rooms, when I heard footsteps coming my way. Instantly, I searched for a place to hide and situated myself behind a stack of metal crates.

As the footsteps grew louder, I decided to peep around the crate and see who it was coming The first one was Donald Duck and right behind him was the tall dog, Goofy. They were so engrossed into whatever they were saying that they didn't seem to notice me as they disappeared into the upstairs compartment.

A few seconds later the ship began to rumble, signifying that it had been turned on. The ship's vibrations were so strong that I fell on the ground, my head hitting the floor. I blacked out soon after.

I woke up an hour, or maybe later, with a groan and saw felt the steady rhythm of the engines below my feet. The ship was twisting and turning as it flew in space. I tried standing up but all I managed to do was fall onto one the crates next to me, creating a loud noise. _Uh-oh. _I tried backing up, only to trip unto a box that conveniently said Fragile.

I groaned a little at the pain I felt on my back and tried to relax until I heard footsteps coming from upstairs, getting louder and louder. A moment later, someone came down from the cockpit, flashlight blazing.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" The person shouted and I nearly gasped out at the shock—It was Sora! I jumped up from the broken box which made some rumbling sound that alerted the brown-haired teen. _Crap!_ I hid behind another crate so he wouldn't see me.

"I'm warning you, I have a weapon." He summoned the _Kingdom Key_ in a flurry of lights. "Come on out or I'll make you come out." Sora tried to coax me out of my hiding.

"1…" I heard him say. I tried to stay as still as possible, hoping he wouldn't see me.

"2…" He sounded closer now. _**I told you this wasn't a good idea. **_I heard Naminé tell me in fear. _Now's not a good time._

"3!" He moved around the crate and was about to unleash the Keyblade on my head. I put my arms around my head and screamed a high pitched scream. He flashed the illuminating device on the my scared figure and recognition flashed in his blue eyes.

"Kairi?" He asked me before he helped me stand up and walked me towards the others.

**End of Flashback:**

**3****rd**** Person POV**

Kairi had just finished her story and everyone was shocked at what she had to go through to be here today. After a while, Sora broke the silence that descended upon everyone.

"Wow Kairi I had no idea you had it in you." He instantly regretted saying that as he saw her face grow red with intense anger and giving him a death glare. _**You shouldn't have said it like that! **_At times Roxas couldn't believe how impulsive his Other was.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kairi jumped from her seat and was instantly in front of Sora's face.

"Uh, I didn't mean it like that, it's just…" Sora started to babble as he tried to explain himself.

"What? Just say what you really think. You think I'm too weak to have done anything like that. I bet all you see me as is a Damsel in Distress!" She looked close to tears but she refused to let them fall.

"NO! That's not what I meant! I just…" Sora was starting to get nervous. She looked like she was about to break down crying and he didn't know what to do.

"If you honestly think that, then how about this…" She summoned her Keyblade and got into a fighting stance. She held it on her right hand. She was slanted so that her left side was in front of her while the right behind her. "Fight me and if I win you'll let me go with you on this adventure." Though they weren't the only ones going, he was the only one she wanted the approval of.

_**Wait, WHAT? **_Both Naminé and Roxas were shocked at her determination. Sora had no choice but to agree and so led her to the Training Simulator, everyone else following behind.

**JAM: There, Done! Sorry if this was a bit rushed, but I made a promise that I would write this for today, even if it killed me.**

**Aqua: And it almost did; He was going crazy that he wouldn't be able to finish it.**

**JAM: Yeah, well I only managed to finish it because I divided this chapter up into 2. Originally, this chapter was supposed to have both the flashback and the fight. I'll try to write the next part by next week, but I can't promise that.**

**Aqua: Hey, aren't you supposed to finish that essay?**

JAM: *Eyes bulge out of his head* Crap, I have to write 3 pages and turn it in by midnight at and also turn in a copy tomorrow during 1**st**** period. Alright, that's it for this chapter. I have to go! *Runs out the door to his room***

**Aqua: He seems to have forgotten one very important thing.**

**JAM: *Opens door and rushes back outside* Oh, right. Okay I have all the main couples for the story down, but there is a couple I don't know which to use. AquaxVen or AquaxTerra. Both have great possibilities but I can't decide. So, I will have a poll on my page for my readers to vote on. Once your done here, please go and vote on which you would rather have. Well, that's it. Bye!**


	4. Lovers' Quarrel

**JAM: Another chapter done! **

**Riku: Took you long enough. **

**JAM: Well sorry, but I've also been working on my other story, which I've also updated. **

**Riku: Yeah, yeah. And I suppose re-reading the Warrior Heir and its sequels had nothing to do with it.**

**JAM: Well, uh…I can't help it! They're just so good! *Starts reading the book***

**Riku: Enough with your excuses and get on with the story.**

**JAM: *glares* You better stop or else.**

**Riku: Or else what? You can't do anything to me. *smirks at JAM***

**JAM: True, but he can. *JAM pointed his thumb behind him and a Corridor of Darkness appeared. Out stepped out Janux, JAM's Nobody who was also the embodiment of Gluttony.***

**Janux: Somebody called for a mediator?**

**Riku: What is he doing here? This isn't even his story.**

***Janux summoned his weapons, Sword of Creation and Blade of Demise. (Can be found on my page for reference)***

**Riku: *Gulp* I'm out of here! *Disappears in a CoD of his own.* **

**Janux: Aww, no fun. *shrugs* Oh well, disclaimer time! Janus-Juan doesn't own anything but the plot, though not completely.**

**JAM: There, now that's better than saying I barely own it. **

**Janux: You know you don't.**

**JAM: *glares at his Nobody but then stares at the camera and addresses the audience* Oh and before I forget, the results of the poll is in. And the winner is…it's a tie!**

**All: Aww.**

**JAM: But don't worry. After getting being set straight by Aqua StormXIV and CrimsonDarkness 0013 I have decided to make the pairing TerraxAqua. Thanks guys!**

**Half: Yay! Half: Aww.**

**JAM: **_**But**_**, I will have some hints toward VenxAqua, but it'll mostly be friendship/brother-sister love like Namora. Sorry to those who are pro-VenxAqua but after watching the cutscenes again, I clearly see more attraction there.**

All: Guess that's ok. (A/N Just so everyone knows, I am highly indecisive when it comes to choosing things) 

**JAM: Anyway, on with the show! **

**Chapter 4: Sora vs Kairi**

Our heroes aboard the _The Highwind _were on their way below deck and toward the Training Simulator. Sora was up front with Kairi a couple of steps behind and everyone else in tow. They were a wee bit anxious to see what will happen in the fight between Sora and Kairi. No one knew how good she was. Heck, they didn't even know she could fight at all.

Finally, they stopped in front of a door. It metallic in composition and held neither a handle nor doorknob on the surface. All it had was a module at the top. When Sora stopped in front of it, he spoke out to the door. "Open Sesame!" The door acknowledged the phrase as some sort of password as a device came out of the wall. It seemed to be a high-tech shower head that, instead of water, dispersed a beam of light. Sora stepped forward, under the light, and a second later he vanished. The others were in awe at what happened and stayed rooted to their spot for a couple of seconds before they too did the same.

After stepping under the light, they were instantly transported to a pitch black room. They could see nothing around them but a computer in the middle of the room, where Sora was. He was pressing buttons and typing something into the computer. "Computer, begin simulation." He yelled at the sky and a second later the computer was gone and the room became engulfed in light. Once the light died down, everyone looked at their surroundings. Their eyes widened in amazement at what they saw.

Waves crashed into the shore, pushing and pulling on the sand. All around them, water lingered, as they were now on an island. A giant tree stood behind them, casting a shadow upon the land. Up in the horizon, the sun was high in the sky, but was close making its descent for the night.

"Wow! It looks just like Destiny Islands." Goofy exclaimed. Everyone nodded their heads as they still couldn't form words at what had happened.

"Yep. I chose this place because it had a lot of room and also because of how much I miss it. I think this is the perfect place to hold our battle Kairi." Sora turned the girl in question and she nodded her head in approval. She was glad he had accepted her proposition but still a bit suspicious as to why he did it.

_I'm a bit nervous about this. _Sora told Roxas, while keeping his façade up for everyone else.

_**Huh, this'll be a piece of cake. **_Roxas told Sora in his mind, putting his hands behind his head. He thought no one could here what they were saying to each other. But boy were they wrong…

Naminé appeared in a flash of gold and marched her way at the confused brunnette. When she was a couple of feet away, she raised her right hand above her head, ready to slap somebody. Sora closed his eyes, waiting for the pain. None came though.

"Ow!" Sora opened his eyes when he heard a shout coming from in front of him. Roxas was on the ground, holding his now red-marked left cheek as he stared at the eyes of the female blonde, who seemed pretty ticked off.

"Did you forget, I can hear you too?"

"Uh, must've slipped my mind." Roxas tried to justify his actions. _**At least I know where Kairi gets her wonderful personality.**_

"I heard that!" Naminé was staring at him with an 'are you really that stupid' look. "And if you think it's so easy, then how about you fight me?"

"You? But you don't even have a weapon." Roxas was a bit confused at what she was saying but a moment later was shocked at what she had done. She put out her hand in front of her and it appeared in a flurry of lights.

It was yellow with chains of sky blue on the blade, from top to bottom. The teeth was a half a circle with six spires sticking out of it. The circle was divided into 9 parts. At the tip of the blade was a small, blue gemstone. Inside it was a yellow star. The hilt of the sword was shaped like a star itself and the handle was sky blue. At the end, Naminé's lucky charm was hooked to the hilt like a keychain. _Déjà Vu_ flashed into their minds. **(A/N For picture reference please check my profile page for the link.)**

"Where did you get that?" Roxas asked stupefied.

"Guess being the Nobody of a Keyblade Wielding Princess of Heart and created from the body of the Keyblade Master has its perks." She smirked at him and got into her battle stance which was exactly like Kairi's.

_**Wow, I didn't see this coming.**_

_You're telling me. _Sora was also in a little bit of shock but since Roxas can wield a Keyblade, then in theory so would Naminé.

"OK, I want a good, clean, fight. No dirty tricks or hassles. Everyone needs to try their best, so no holding back." Riku pretended to be the referee for the fights that were to take place. Those in question nodded at his words and got into their battle positions.

"3!" Roxas and Naminé stared into each others eyes. One nervous while the other was ready to make the other eat his words.

"2!" Sora tried to calm his fast beating heart at the notion of having to fight the one person that he cared most about.

"1!" Kairi was trying to find a weak spot in Sora's battle stance, formulating a plan of attack.

"Begin!" Battle cries were heard as they charged at each other.

**Roxas vs ****Naminé**

Naminé charged at Roxas full speed while trying to slash at him. He easily blocked her attacks, only using _Oathkeeper _to do so. She was a bit flustered that she couldn't land a hit and so decided to change tactics. She jumped back a bit and unleashed an arsenal of magic spells. "**Blizzaga!**"A shard of ice shot forth from the tip of _Déjà Vu _and at Roxas. He was so shocked that she knew magic, that he was too distracted to block it. The spell caused Roxas to freeze in place as he was surrounded in ice. Naminé smirked.

"**Firaga!**" Flames of fire was dispersed toward the frozen boy causing his shell to melt away and him to be completely soaked from the combo. He shook his head, trying to get some droplets off his hair. "Is that all you've got?" he asked her.

"Far from it. **Thundaga!**" Naminé pointed her Keyblade at the sky and bolts of lightning shot from the sky at the spot where Roxas stood. The problem with the attacks was that him being wet amplified the brutality of the electric attack. Smoke rose around him, hiding him from view. After a few seconds the smoke cleared revealing a very electrified Roxas with disheveled clothing. That wasn't the worst though, as his hair stood up in random directions and a small flame was at the top of one of the strands of loose hair. It was by far worse than Sora's porcupine hairstyle.

Naminé started laughing at what had become of him, not noticing the dark clouds in her opponent's eyes. "Ok, you've had your fun, now it's my turn." He ran up to her and brought down _Oathkeeper _on Naminé only to be blocked by her Keyblade.

"I know this isn't your all, so stop holding back. You heard what Riku said." Naminé told the boy she held deep affection for.

"Well, if that's what you want." He shrugged at her request and summoned _Oblivion _to his free hand and slashed at her ribs. She barely had time to block the attack.

He went on the offense. He attacked her chest with _Oathkeeper _and then brought down _Oblivion _at her legs, making her go down on the sand below. He pointed _Oathkeeper _at her heart (or where it was supposed to be) pinning her down to the ground. "Done already?" He playfully mocked her while grinning at her.

She smirked at him."Not just yet. **Disperse!**" _Déjà Vu _began glowing a white aura, blinding Roxas for a second. Once the glow died down, he felt something pull down on his white Keyblade. He pulled closer to him and managed to see what it was. It was a light blue chain that wrapped itself around the handle of _Oathkeeper_. The chain was the same that was on Naminé's Keyblade but was now attached to her left hand. She pulled at _Oathkeeper _and he was amazed at how strong she was, though he still managed to keep a hold on his weapon.

She shrugged her shoulders and pulled back the chain so that it hovered around her like a snake, ready to stike. She then threw it again and made it wrap around his feet and pulled. It was payback as he fell to the ground and she put her foot on his chest, placing the Keyblade under his chin.

"Okay! I give! I give!" Roxas put his hands in front of himself and shaked them all about (**A/N Now do the hokey pokey and turn yourself around.)**

"And we have a winner!" Riku screamed. "Now we are left with the battle between the Keyblade Master and the red headed Princess of Heart."

"Want to go see the fight?" Roxas asked once Naminé helped him to his feet. He intertwined her hand in his and gave a small bow.

"I'd like that." She giggled at his gesture and let him drag to where all the other people were gathered, watching the fight intently.

**Sora vs Kairi**

Sora and Kairi circled around each other, seeing which of them would attack first. Finally, Sora decided to get it over with. He ran at her and tried to disarm her so he could end this fight as quickly as possible. She seemed to have anticipated this as she blocked his attack. She counterattacked by pushing him back a few feet. She then swung at him with a lot of force but he easily dodged the attack.

Her attack made her vulnerable for him to attack at her side, but he didn't go for it. She uppercutted him with _Destiny's Embrace_ barely missing his head as sliced a spike from his head, it hitting the ground. Again, he chose to miss the opportunity of catching her off guard. Problem was, she noticed his hesitation.

"Sora! You've had two shots at me, and you decided not to take them. Stop playing defense and attack me!" Kairi thrust her weapon at Sora, slicing the front of his shirt but it didn't hurt him at all.

Sora jumped back a few feet, gaining some distance between them. She ran after him and jumped into the air. She brought _Destiny's Embrace _down upon his head but he again blocked her attack with _Kingdom Key_. Sparks flew as the two blades met. She stared at his eyes and smirked. She moved her weapon so she could use Sora's weapon for momentum to backflip and land in the sand a couple of meters away. Composing herself, Kairi taunted him by giving him the 'come on' sign with her fingers.

This motion caused him to grin as he replaced _Kingdom Key's_ keychain and changed it with that of _Bond of Flames_ while Kairi changed _Destiny's Embrace's _with that of her lucky charm, brandishing _Oathkeeper_.

"How about we try again?" Sora asked her and as she nodded. They ran at each other full speed.

Kairi shot a blast of flame at Sora, who swiped at it, causing it to disappear. He then placed his hand at the ground shouting "**Freeze!**". The ground turned to solid ice, heading right for Kairi. She was a bit shocked at what happened as she slid on the frozen ground and fell down on the ground. She looked up to see Sora quickly approaching her.

"Uh-Oh. **Burn!**" She swiped her left arm to her right side, flames dispersing in a wave-like attack toward Sora. As it got closer, the ground began to melt, changing the once dry sand into dark, brown mud. The heat of the flames hit him full force, causing him to fall backwards into the mud. The damp sand seeped into his clothes and splashed all over his face and hair.

Sitting up, he saw Kairi trying to hold back her laughter a little ways away from him. Shaking his head, mud fell all over the place. Once his hair and eyes were deprived of the substance, he stared at Kairi, grin still on his face.

"Good job, Kairi. But let's see how you deal with this! **Fire Raid!**" Sora threw _Bond of Flames _at Kairi, being engulfed in flames. '_Wonder if this'll work'_ Kairi thought as she used the memories of Sora's attacks given to her by Naminé. "**Freeze Raid!**" Her Keyblade was engulfed by ice as it was thrown at the fiery weapon. Both weapons met in the middle, causing a small explosion to take place. Both Keyblades were found on the floor once it cleared. Both competitors willed them to return and they appeared in their right hands in a flurry of light.

"Great comeback, Kairi! But I'm still not done yet. Give me strength!" Light engulfed his body as he transformed into Master Form. Now along with _Bond of Flames_, he had _Mysterious Abyss _in his left hand's grasp.

"No fair!" Kairi pouted at his advantage.

"Kairi!" The girl in question turned her attention to the sidelines. She saw Naminé waving her left arm in the air, trying to get her attention. Once she did, the blonde threw _Déjà Vu _at the auburn haired girl. Grabbing it, she turned to the brunnette teen and smirked as she got into a dual stance.

"Now we're even!" Sora gulped at the dangerous glint in her eyes before they began their attacks. They were evenly matched. Their dangerous dance kept going on for a while, no one getting the upperhand. "Why do you want to come?" Sora asked.

"Isn't it obvious? With you having Ven's heart within you, how do you plan on returning it and not disappear without my help?" At the end of her statement, she attacked using her Keyblades simulatenously, one after another. This drove him back a few feet.

"Well, I would've thought of something." He then used both of his weapons to drive her back, her sliding across the sand with her head down. Lifting her head, she threw a glare his way. 

"Oh, and what if your plan failed? Then what?" _ Déjà Vu _was thrown his way, like a boomerang, nearly cutting off his head if he didn't duck down. "Do you know what could happen? You could die!" Tears spilled down her cheeks once she put the thought out into the open. "Kairi…" he held sympathy toward her. "Ahhh!" _Lunge, lunge, uppercut, slam. _Sora was caught off guard and flew into the seaside shack at the edge of the beach.

"Ow…" Wood crashed onto his body, splinters lodged into his skin so deep that blood layered his body. Master Form had reached its end as his clothes returned to its normal black color. Blood and sweat caused them to stick to him like glue to his body. "**Cure.**" Green vines wrapped themselves around Sora's body healing some of his wounds, as he didn't have enough mana to use a high level spell. He saw Kairi coming his way, her body starting to shine.

"Kairi, you can stop now! You've won already." Riku shouted at her to stop.

"I can't stop." She told him desperately, still advancing on Sora. "There's something inside me building, dying to be released and I can't seem to keep it bottled up." She had now stopped a couple of feet away from Sora, the light having grown in size. Her whole body was emanating a white aura. "Sora, you need to get out of the way."

"I'm still weak, Kairi. I can't get up." Kairi began to silently sob, new tears flowing down her face.

The light had grown to the point that it was almost painful to look up at her. "Uh-oh! I can't hold it back any longer." _Déjà Vu _was stabbed right into the sand, her left hand placed upon it. A circle of light appeared, growing in size until Sora was surrounded by it. Pointing _Oathkeeper_ towards the sky, she started muttering words in a language no one could understand. Smaller versions of the seal appeared behind , in front, and at either side of him. They seemed to have bound him in place; he didn't even look like he was breathing!

She stopped muttering the words and light oozed out of the tip of her weapon. "**Hikari O!**" Light was shot at the sky and then redirected at the each seal. They began to glow the same color as the blast (white) and hum like they were laser attacks (which they totally were).

"Oh no!" Naminé screamed. "We have to do something!"

"She's right! Donald, Roxas, Naminé, help me out." Riku instructed them. "Ready?" They nodded their heads as they raised their palms into the air. "**Reflega!**" Four domes of crystallized hexagons covered Sora's body, one on top of the other, creating layers of protection. And not a moment too soon. Beams of light shot at the brunnette's body from all sides, crashing directly into the top shield. The attack was so great, it obliterated right past the top layer (Naminé's).

The blast seemed to have put a lot of strain on Roxas's body, especially after his battle against the female blonde, and down went the second dome. Once the lasers stopped, all looked in the clear. Those left standing were about to put down the spells when the large seal on the ground shone golden. A giant explosion of light burst from the ground, creating a large shockwave that pushed everyone from their spots and into the giant tree behind them.

Whatever froze Sora, wore out as the last two shields disappeared. He blinked his eyes to get his vision into focus. He looked around him to find himself inside a crater the size of a house. He stood up from where he was and limped up the hole.

Once on ground level, he saw everyone on their backs, groaning in pain. As they sat up, he wondered what happened until he remembered about Kairi. "Kairi! Where are you?" He looked around for the Princess of Heart. When he found her by the waves, unconscious, he ran as fast as he could; screw the mind boggling pain that shot through his body as he kept on going.

Knelting down on the ground by her, he rolled her onto her back and started to gently shake her shoulders. "Kairi! Kairi, open your eyes." (**A/N Whoa, déjà vu**) Her face scrunched up in minor pain as her periwinkle eyes opened up and stared at his cerulean orbs. "Sora, what happened?" She was a bit confused at why he was covered in blood until realization hit her full force. Once it did, she tried to get away from him.

"Kairi, what's wrong?" He held onto her body a bit harder so she couldn't escape his grasp.

"Sora, I'm so sorry. I-I couldn't stop myself and now look at you; you're hurt." She looked around for the first time and became even more guilty. "And not just you, everyone else too. Please let me go before I hurt anyone else." She struggled to get away.

"Kairi, calm down. This sort of thing happens to everybody." She stopped struggling in curiosity. "All you need to do is learn to control it."

"Yeah, but how?"

"I'll-I'll teach you." She looked up at him to see if he was lying but lost her breath once she saw how sincere his expression told her, his eyes full of honesty and something she couldn't place.

"Thank you." They hugged each other, tears of joy escaping her eyes while he tightened his grip on her body. Out in the distance, the sun had dipped below the horizon and the moon and stars came out to blanket the sky in light.

**JAM: Whew, done! I think this chapter was pretty good.**

**Sora: What? You almost killed me off.**

**JAM: Keyword: almost. I couldn't kill you off yet, you still have a lot to do. **

**Sora: Oh, ok. Hey, what do you mean yet.**

**JAM: Anyway, this chapter was designed to show off Naminé's new weapon and Kairi's awesome moves. After hearing that she wouldn't be taking the exam, I had to compensate on it by giving her a new attack: Heaven's Judgement. It is one of the Shot Locks that will appear in the game.**

**Kairi: Cool!**

**Sora: Hey, what about me?**

JAM: You'll learn one of yours soon enough and so will Riku. 

**Sora and Riku: Wahoo! *High-five***

**JAM: *rolls his eyes* Next chapter will have them reach Mysterious Tower and then things will really get good. **

**Aqua: I finally make my appearance. *Sees that JAM was about to say something* Blank Points doesn't count. *JAM shuts his mouth***

**JAM: Ok, that wraps up this chapter, until next time. Mickey anything you want to say?**

**Mickey: See you real soon!**

**JAM: Couldn't have said it better myself. I promise I'll try to update as soon as I can, though I bet it'll be even faster if I get reviews from you, my readers. So please, tell me what you guys think of my story so far.**


	5. Mark of Mastery

**JAM: Whoa, I'm on a roll today.**

**Sora: Mmhmm. **

**JAM: Sora, what are you doing?**

**Sora: Nothing…*Sora was sitting down on a table with a plate in hand and a piece of turkey was stabbed by a fork.***

**JAM: *glares* Are you eating our Thanksgiving Turkey?**

**Sora: Maybe…*talks with mouth full***

**JAM: Ok that's it. Get over here, you! *starts chasing after Sora around the room***

**Riku: *sigh* Am I the only mature one here?**

**JAM: *pants after chasing Sora only for him to go and hide behind Kairi as a means of protection.* Whatever. I was going to say something…Oh yeah, Happy Turkey Day! **

**All: ?**

**JAM: Thanksgiving…**

**All: Oh…**

**JAM: And to celebrate, here's chapter 5.**

**Riku: No duh! **

**JAM: *glares* Do you want me to bring my Nobody back?**

**Riku: *eyes widen* No, that's ok. **

**JAM: Good, now this chapter you and Sora will be taking your Mark of Mastery Exam. **

**Sora: The what? **

**Aqua: It's a test where we see if you are worthy of becoming a Keyblade Master or not.**

**Riku and Sora: Oh…**

**Aqua: *facepalm* Oh brother. Anyway, Janus-Juan doesn't own anything but the plot, barely.**

**JAM: You know what, I give up. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 5: Mark of Mastery**

Sitting in bed, Aqua was thinking about how her life started to go down hill that faithful day years ago. She dug into her pocket and brought out a blue star-shaped charm. The legs of the stars were bound to each other by brown stitches to a token in the center. The token was a silver Mark of Mastery symbol. A brown strap was tied to the head of the star with a smaller multi-colored star at the end.

Holding it to her chest, thoughts about those most important to her came to mind. "Ven, Terra. I miss you so much." Her eyes brimmed with tears but she refused to let them fall. "Soon, we'll all be together again." She wiped her tears with her free hand while tightening her grip on the Wayfinder. "I'll make sure of it."

**/**

_A half moon surrounded by purple clouds appeared. Shaking back and forth it expanded and disappeared in a flurry of small stars and moons. One of the moons jumped around the screen causing the letters M and T appear. Shooting stars flew from the left side to the right. The words __**Mysterious Tower**__ appeared in lights over purple smoke. _

Our heroes departed from their vessel. Those who have not come here before stood in awe at the tower in front of them. It was on an island, perched over a sea of yellow water, levitating as if by magic. The building was surrounded by shrubbery and grass.

"Come on guys, we better hurry." Mickey told everyone, snapping their out of their stupor to see Sora, Donald and Goofy already by the door with Mickey running toward them. Riku and Kairi followed behind the others, entering inside the tower.

Inside a spiral staircase was all that could be seen. "This way." Mickey led the group up the staircase and toward a green light. There was nothing beyond it, not that they could see, which worried Kairi a bit. Seeing this, Sora tried to reassure her. "Don't worry, Kairi. There's nothing to be afraid of."

"Hmm, ok." She walked forward to the light and was engulfed by it before disappearing. Seeing that he was the only one left, Sora walked forward into the light.

_A couple of minutes later…_

"_Gasp…_Finally…_gasp_…we're here." Donald huffed in exhaustion. They had to climb about 200 flights of stairs to get to the top. Luckily, there weren't any Heartless to take care of on the way, or else they never would've made it. After catching their breaths, they opened the door and entered into Yen Sid's study.

The room is large and circular, with several shelves containing many books. There is a large wooden desk with a large seat behind it. To the back large star and moon shaped windows where the Countryside was displayed. A door on the side of the study gives way to the Wardrobe Room where Sora got his new clothes only a year ago. Master Yen Sid was sitting in his seat, thinking when the door opened. He moved his eyes up to greet his visitors.

The Disney crew knelt to the ground, their heads ducked to the floor, showing their respects for the retired Keyblade Master. "Master Yen Sid, it's an honor." Donald told the mighty wizard. "We have brought Sora and Riku like you asked." Those in question bowed at the wizard.

"Ah, so you have." He told them. "Welcome Sora and Riku. Oh, and hello to you too Kairi, Princess of Heart." Once she heard her name, Kairi curtsied in acknowledgement.

"Yes, Master Yen Sid. I thought I could be of help in the upcoming quest." Kairi told him.

"I'm glad you have come. If I remember correctly your Nobody and Sora's Nobody were on the list of those that needed to be saved." Stroking his beard he began thinking. "Sora and Kairi, please come here for a second." Those in question walked over to the side of the desk and stood beside Yen Sid.

"Yes Master?" They asked in unison.

"Can I please see your necklaces for a second?" Both Sora and Kairi were a bit nervous at this notion. They've had these since they were kids. Sensing their feelings, Master Yen Sid gave them a gentle smile. "Don't worry, I only need them for a couple of seconds and then I'll return them." Nodding, they obliged and put them in his right hand.

He held out his hand and in a beam of light he finished what he had set out to do. The necklaces began to glow a white aura for a second before it died down. "There, done. Here you go." He gave back the necklaces to their respective person.

"Master Yen Sid, if I may ask, what did you do to them?" Sora asked a bit confused at how he finished so fast.

"I'd think it'd be better if you saw it for yourself. Just place them around your necks, squeeze them, and shout your Nobodies' name."

"Ok…" Both Kairi and Sora put their pendants back around their necks and stood a couple of feet apart from each other.

"I'll go first." Kairi told Sora causing him to nod in approval. Holding her oval necklace, she began to squeeze it while closing her eyes to concentrate. "Naminé." Once she spoke the blonde's name, the pendant around her neck began to glow golden. She felt a small wave rack through her body as it glowed. Opening her eyes, she saw everyone was staring wide eyed right next to her. Curiosly she turned to her right.

Naminé was standing right next to her, eyes closed and scrunched up in anticipation. Usually this wasn't that amazing as she could do that before, but now she was no longer transparent. She was there in the flesh, her blonde hair whooshing as a breeze came in from the windows. Around her neck was the right half of Kairi's necklace. "Naminé?" Opening her eyes, the girl Nobody's face lit up as she saw that her body was visible.

"It worked. I'm free!" Jumping up and down in her spot, she giggled in happiness.

_**Hey, Sora, can you use the necklace, please; I want to see **__**Naminé, too.**_

_Sure thing, Roxas. _

Sora did the same thing Kairi did. "Rox-" Before he could finish, the door at the side opened up and out came Aqua. Her eyes were bloodshot and her vision was a bit blurry.

"Master Yen Sid, have they gotten here yet?" Seeing the room all crowded, she got her answer. "Oh, I guess they have. So which of these is…" Once her eyes saw Sora, she stopped cold. "Ven?" She rushed over to the brunnette and pulled him into a bone crushing hug, causing him to blush. This did not abide well with the red headed girl in the room as she glared at the bluenette's back.

She was about to tell her off when Naminé, sensing her feelings, drove her back. _Let me at her, let me at her. _Kairi thought-screamed at her Nobody, who seemed to have heard her as she shook her head no.

"Ven, I've missed you so much."

"Uh, sorry to tell you this, but I'm not who you think I am." He gently pushed her off him so she was at arm's length. Getting a better look at him, she realized her mistake.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were—never mind. I'm Aqua. And you are?" Holding out her hand for him to take, she swore she had met him before. Taking her hand he answered her question. "I'm Sora." Again realization hit her like a two-ton brick. "Of course, why didn't I see it before? You still look just like you did last time I saw you, albeit older."

"Have we met before?"

"Yeah, years ago when you were 4. I met you while visiting Destiny Islands. Well, you and Riku too." She turned to the silver haired teen near the door. "Riku, don't be shy. Come and give me a hug, too." She pulled him into a group hug with Sora. Finally she laid her eyes on the red headed PoH. "Kairi, you're here too? I almost didn't recognize you. You've grown a lot from the small little girl I saved all those years ago. But, how do you know these two?"

Kairi explained about her landing on the night of a Meteor Shower on the waves of Destiny Islands after Radiant Garden had been plunged in Darkness. She also mentioned that she had lost her memory of her younger years. Aqua also answered their question of how she could look so young and yet look like a 17-year-old. Guess time in the Realm of Darkness doesn't affect age.

"Now that you've gotten reacquainted with each other, Sora I think you were about to summon Roxas up."

"Oh, right." Again he squeezed the crown necklace in his hand.

"See, she's not after Sora. You've got nothing to worry about." Naminé whispered in her ear.

"Roxas." Sora spoke his name and the same feeling that Kairi felt overwhelmed him. The crown pendent around his neck glowed blue and then split into two. On his left, Roxas came into existence, becoming visible like Naminé did, having part of the Crown necklace around his neck. Opening his eyes, he muttered about how happy he was to be real again, but kept his emotions in check. Once Aqua saw him…

"Ven!" She tackle hugged him, making him almost fall to the ground in the process, with her on top of him, if he hadn't held them both in place.

Naminé's blue eyes began to cloud in anger as she glared at Aqua. She clenched and unclenched her hands. She started to stomp her way to the two, but something stopped her. She was held back by her waist. Turning her glare behind her, she saw it was Kairi gripping her. "Let me at her! Let me at her!" Struggling from her positon didn't get her anywhere. Man, was Kairi strong.

"Payback's a bitch, huh?" Kairi smirked but it disappeared as she tightened her grip on the dead set girl.

After explaining to her that he also wasn't Ven, and calming Naminé down, Aqua was a bit confused. "But wait, how can that be possible. You look exactly the same as Ven and even have the same voice, though it is a bit deeper."

"I think I have an explanation for that." Yen Sid started to explain. "You see, after Ven defeated Vanitas, his heart started to drift in the Darkness until he met up with Sora's heart and joined with it. Ten years later, when in Radiant Garden, then Hollow Bastion, Sora stabbed himself to release Kairi's heart and became a Heartless, a Nobody—I mean two Nobodies were born. Because Ven's heart was inside Sora's when he did this, Roxas took his form."

Aqua was a bit shocked at the news. "Wait, Sora sacrificed his own life to give Kairi her heart back?" Everyone nodded in confirmation. "_Sigh,_ that is so romantic." She smiled and sighed dreamily, thinking about a certain guy she had fallen for before her quest began. This caused both Sora and Kairi to blush crimson and everyone, except Master Yen Sid, laughed at their blushing face.

"But sir, is that even possible?" Riku asked the all knowing wizard, after composing himself.

"Of course. I mean haven't you noticed that Ven had also affected Naminé's appearance as well? Where do you think she got her blonde hair?" Hearing this, Naminé twirled her blonde locks in her finger.

"I always wondered about that." She muttered to herself, so quietly that no one heard her. Just then, Jiminy Cricket hopped out of Sora's hoody and onto the desk. "If you have any more questions, I have two volumes worth of information on the adventures these guys went through." Jiminy Cricket gave the small books to Aqua, placing them on her gloved hand. Thanking him, she muttered a spell and words flowed out of the books (literally) and into her head.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" The green cricket began to panic. He had just gotten the info for their first adventure back and he didn't want to lose it again.

She gave him a gentle smile, causing his worries to disappear. "Don't worry, this is something I've learned that lets me read a book in seconds." A couple of seconds later, she handed Jiminy the books back. He then returned back to Sora's hoody and hid them between the lining.

"Ok, if we're done, there is something you should know about the spell I put on your pendants."

"What about it?" Sora asked.

"The spell has a time limit. It can only be used for 20 minutes at a time and needs about 2 hours before they can be used again." This caused both Nobodies to become all sad that it was only temporary.

"So we'll have to return to Sora and Kairi, then?" Naminé asked, crestfallen.

"I'm afraid so." He nodded sadly at them. "They put a strain on their hearts while you are outside of them. But don't worry, this is just a temporary arrangement until we find a way to separate you without harming Sora and Kairi." They calmed down a bit after he gave them a warm smile.

"Master, shouldn't we start the exam?" Mickey asked his ex-Master about the reason why he had brought Sora and Riku in the first place.

"You are correct, Mickey. Sora, Riku, please stand in the middle of the room." The boys in question stood side by side in front of the wizard. "Everyone, except Aqua, stand at the ends of the room." They did what they were told. "Aqua, come stand by me."

Once in position, Master Yen Sid held out the palm of his hand, chanted somethings, and in a puff of smoke, the small room became a gigantic arena. It was purple with 4 golden pillars stationed at each end of a golden square in the center. Sora and Riku were in the middle of the square looking around in surprise.

"Whoa!" Riku was amazed at the room's transformation. Looking around, a question ate at him. "Hey, where did everyone go?" True to his words, they were the only people there.

"Do not worry, they are safe up here with me and Master Aqua." Staring up, they could see a judge's box where Yen Sid and Aqua were sitting on wooden thrones. Right next to them, their friends were staring down at them while standing. What was surprising, though, was that Roxas and Naminé were nowhere to be seen. The crown necklace around Sora's neck was no longer broken in half.

_Roxas, where did you go?_

___**Me and Naminé thought that it would be best to return to you and Kairi during the exam. Since we didn't know what'll happen during this test, I thought you'd need all of your strength to face your trials. **_

_Thank you, Roxas._

Feeling guilty that Roxas had to return back to him so early, he made a silent promise that he would find a way to free him and Naminé from this lifestyle.

"So what exactly do we have to do to pass this exam?" Sora asked loud enough for thos in the box to hear.

"There will be 3 parts to it. At the end we will deliberate whether you have passed or fail." Aqua explained. "We will with checking your strength and stamina." Shadow Heartless and Dusk Nobodies rose from the ground, twitching and spasming. "Begin!"

Riku and Sora summoned _Way to Dawn _and _Kingdom Key _respectively. Riku attacked the Hearless while Sora managed the Dusks. After a couple of minutes, they were all destroyed.

"Round 2!" Dragoons and Assassin Nobodies surrounded Sora while Novashadow and Defender Heartless gathered around Riku. "Fight!"

Sora slashed at a Dragoon Nobody, hitting it upside the head. Hissing, the Dragoon jabbed his spear at the ground, creating a shockwave that stunned Sora. Shaking his head to get rid of it, he had thought of what he could do to defeat them faster since he couldn't use magic. Blocking a downward slash, he managed to disarm the Dragoon and destroyed it with a couple of hits to its sides.

The Defenders' shields breathed fire on Riku. Dodge rolling out of the way, he rolled behind the Heartless and brought down _Way to Dawn _on its back, making it vanish as its heart disappeared back to Kingdom Hearts. Turning around, Riku lunged at a Novashadow that tried to do a surprise attack on him. Another one down.

Sora was being driven back toward a pillar by 3 Dragoons. Smirking, they held up their lances above his head. Before they could drive them down, however, Sora began glowing a red aura. "**Ars Arcanum!**" He began to attack all of the enemies in a berserk like state, destroying all of the dragon-like Nobodies in the area. Once they were gone, Berserker Nobodies took their place.

"Are you kidding me?" He growled in exasperation. A Samurai Nobody came up behind Sora, who didn't see it. When he was directly behind him, Sora turned around to see the gray sword about a meter from his head. Closing his eyes, he waited for the attack to come. After a second, he felt no pain. Opening his eyes, he saw that the Samurai had stopped in place, as have the other of the Samurai Nobodies.

_What in the world?_

_**You have nothing to worry about; they **__**wouldn't dare harm their master. **_Seeing Sora a bit confused, Roxas explained. _**Just so you know, that's me.**_

_Really? T__hat's great! One less enemy to worry about. But Roxas could you…?_

_**Already on it.**_

The Samurai Nobodies resumed their movement but instead of going after Sora, they started attacking some of the Berserker Nobodies. One, though, went toward Riku and hit him upside the head with the hilt of its swords.

"Hey! What was that for?" Riku turned around to Sora and glared at him before he blocked a Novashadows' claw from swiping his head off.

"Sorry!" _Roxas, what'd you do that for?_

_**Oops. **_Sora could almost see Roxas's smirking face in his head. Holding back his laughter, Sora went back to the fight. After a couple of minutes of slicing and dicing, all the enemies were destroyed and the arena was empty.

"Great job, guys. Ok, this part of the exam will require you to **only **use magic. This will allow us to see how great your power is over the elements." Aqua clicked her fingers and both _Way to Dawn _and _Kingdom Key _disappeared to wherever it is they go to. "That's means, no Keyblades!" Targets and obstacles lifted from the ground, transforming the room into a giant obstacle course. "Destroy the targets and get to the other side within the time limit." A timer appeared just below the judge's box, reading a total of 10 minutes. "Begin!"

They ran forward and worked together to destroy these things faster. "**Dark Fire!**" Flames erupted from Riku's fingertips and destroyed 6 targets that in front of him while Sora did the same using **Fire**. In front of them, training dummies were moving from the left side of the arena to the right, blocking their paths. Sora threw a couple of ice shards, piercing the dummies right through their hearts.

Up ahead Wyverns were flying in the air. Once they saw the two Keyblade Wielders, they dived down to try and attack them. "**Gather!**" The wave of Wyverns were pulled right toward the **Magnega **spell Sora threw. "**Thunder!**" Bolts of lightning struck the gathered Heartless, destroying some but paralizing others. Riku took this opportunity to shoot with his own attack. "You know what comes after thunder? **Lightning!**" Blue lightning shot out of his hands, hitting the Wyverns on their emblems, destroying them.

"Good job, Riku." Sora congratulated his friend.

"Thank me later, we're running out of time." The countdown was now at 5'59'00. "Let's keep moving."

"Right." _**Ungrateful. **_Roxas spat in Sora's head. He ignored him and kept running.

They destroyed a couple more targets and made it to a giant maze. Seeing no way around it, Sora and Riku entered the labyrinth. Twists and turns confused both teens as they could find no way out. When they think they found a solid path, a dead end appeared. They looked back at the timer and saw they had 3'47'34 left.

"Gaah! This is hopeless." Sora stated after hitting another wall. "How are we supposed to get out of here in time?" Riku was too busy thinking about the situation to hear him.

"I have a plan."

"Great! What is it?"

Riku walked over to one of the walls of the hall. Standing 5 feet from it, he raised his hand and screamed an incantation. "**Lightning**" The wall was broken through as electricty was being exerted on it. The hole in the wall led to the next hallway.

"You want us to cheat?" Sora was in disbelief.

"They never said we couldn't." Smirking he went to work on the next hallway.

"You're right. But, this way will take too long." Smirking he thought of someway to finish faster. "I have a better idea. **Aeroga!**" Pointing down to the ground, giant winds lifted Sora off the ground and into the air. Navigating the tornado of air, he went flying towards the exit. "Last one there's a rotten egg!" He screamed to his friend once he was a little ways off.

"No fair! You got a head start. Better take this up a notch. **Zero Gravity!**" With the new spell, Riku was floating on air. Pushing himself forward, he was shot like a rocket at the unsuspecting brunnette who was lying lazily on the wind current. "See you Sora." Once he passed him, Sora stood up and used two lower wind spells to work as thrusters, making him catch up to his silver haired friend.

They were neck and neck, each trying to outdue the other in speed. Once they saw the end of the maze, they bolted to the exit. When they were a foot away, the spells wore out.

"Uh-oh." They both said in unison. With their spells going kapoot, and there mana drained, they started falling down to the ground and crash landing. They were in slight pain before they stood up as they could hear the timer winding down. Limping forward, they made it to the last obstacle.

It was a giant door with two targets at the top. Below it was a thermometer of some sort, being empty at the moment. The right side of the door was pure black while the other was pure white. When they were before it, they dug through their pockets and brought out a couple of ethers to return their use magic back to them. After casting **Cure** on each other, they focused on the problem at hand.

"**Fire!**" "**Dark Fire!**" They each attacked one target with their own attacks. A buzzer rang once the targets were hit. It seemed that the door needed specific magic to open it. They checked behind their shoulders to see the timer at 1'49'50. They had less than two minutes left.

"Argh, what do we do?" Sora asked a bit frustated that time was running out.

_**Um, Sora?**_

_What now Roxas?_

_**I think you should look at the very top of the door.**_

Sora looked at the very top of the door and found something that must have been a hint. On the black side of the door, **Hikari** was written in crimson letters. On the white side, **Yami** was written in gold letters.

_Why do those words sound familiar?_

_**Seriously, you've been taking Japanese for the past year and you don't know what those two words mean?**_

_Uh__, no? _

_**For the love of…Hikari means light and Yami means darkness. You ne**__**ed to use Light and Dark spells!**_

"Riku, shoot Darkness at the white target."

"Why?"

"Just do it!" Sora had now tapped into Roxas's powers and summoned up a ball of Light and shot it at the black target while Riku shot a Darkness beam at the white one.

The meters began to rise as they kept shooting their attacks. Once they reached all the way to the top, both sides of the door turned gray and a loud click resonated across the room. The door suddenly burst open and a golden light came from inside. Once the light cleared, they saw their friends at the other side of the door.

Kairi ran forward first, throwing herself at Sora in a bear hug. The brunnette became all flustered at how close they were to each other. Donald and Goofy ran to give Sora a group hug, but their combined weight made them all go down to the ground. They all started laughing at their predicament.

Mickey, on the other hand, casually went over to tell Riku what a good job he did, which he gratefully thanked him for. Hearing a clear of the throat, they all looked up to see Yen Sid and Aqua standing right in front of them. Everyone stood up and waited to see what they had to say.

"The test is over and we have come to a decision." Master Yen Sid said.

"But wait, didn't you say there were 3 parts to it? What about the last part?" Kairi asked a bit confused.

"That's right." Aqua explained. "The first part was the Test of Endurance, the second was the Test of Mana, and the last test was…"

"The Test of Will." Yen Sid finished for her.

"The Test of Will?" Sora was a bit confused as to what they meant.

"Yeah, that is where me and Master Yen Sid saw how strong your hearts and brains were. While the other trials were going on, we checked out your qualifications for that test as well as the others."

_**Oh boy, guess you failed the brains part.**_

_Shut up, Roxas!_

_**Just kidding around. Lighten up.**_

"Sora! Sora!" A snap of the fingers brought Sora out of his thoughts. "Pay attention." Riku told reprimanded him for staring out into space.

"As I was saying, Sora and Riku you have both performed comendably. You have truly shown the Mark of Mastery and so we are happy to say that you both pass."

Everyone was overjoyed that the two have managed to pass their exam and are ready to become Masters. Riku was a bit shocked, as he thought that his use of Dark magic and his past would cause him to fail.

"Kneel Sora and Riku." They did what they were told, heads down. Aqua approached them and summoned her ex-Master's Keyblade that she has used over the years. It has a smooth, cylindrical, grey shaft that tapers outward at both ends. It has a boxy guard, made up of two small, light grey boxes and copper rods. The base of the guard connects to the handle. The teeth are in the shape of an "E". The Keychain is made of several simple chain links with the Mark of Mastery symbol at the attached to the chains. She stopped once in front of them.

"Do you promise to use the Keyblades for the better good and not for evil?"

"We do."

"Would you do whatever it takes to protect the worlds from falling to Darkness, even at the risk of your own lives?" Kairi became nervous at hearing this. Would they really need to do such a promise?

"We do."

"Then rise Keyblade Masters Sora and Riku." She gently hit their shoulders with the tip of the Keyblade and stepped back. Once she did, both Sora and Riku stood up from the ground and bowed down to the ones that gave them the exam.

"Thank you." They said in unison before turning back to their group of friends. Everyone started chearing at the new Masters as well as giving them hugs and congratulations. 

"There is just one thing." Everyone turned to stare at Yen Sid, waiting for him to continue. "Even though you are now Masters, there is much for you to learn. And I believe that Master Aqua can teach you what you need to know."

Bowing to the group, Aqua let out a smile. "It would be my pleasure to teach you. All of you. Yes, that includes you too, Kairi." Kairi was shocked that she would also be learning from the blunette. _Maybe she can help me get stronger. _The Keyblade Wielders nodded in thanks. "Great. We can begin on our way to our first world."

"Where are we going?" Sora was curious as to where they'll go to first.

"We will travel to my old home world, Land of Departure. Well, I guess its now called Castle Oblivion."

_***shivers* Why does it have to be that place again? **_A lot of memories haunted Naminé from that place, both cheerful and painful. Mostly they were painful, though.

"Why, what's there?" Kairi asked.

Reaching into her pocket, Aqua pulled out her Wayfinder. Smiling, she gripped it tight in her right hand, staring at it. "An old friend." And that was all she said as they returned to Yen Sid's study.

**JAM:**** Now, before I end the chapter, I just want to say that I kind of ran out of ideas for the Mark of Mastery Exam so I'm sorry if parts of it are kind of random. Also I know Aqua's acting OOC but she's in shock of seeing her friends after being in the Realm of Darkness for so long. That being said, I just have one request. Please don't kill me for it!**

**Aqua: You made me all tipsy!**

**JAM: Again, I'm sorry. But anyway, what did you guys think of this chapter? Liked it? Hated it? Have any questions? Please tell me your opinions and review. **


	6. Tying Loose Ends

**JAM: Merry belated Christmas and an early Happy New Year's everybody! Sorry it's a bit late, but I was at my dad's house this weekend with no internet access, so I couldn't upload. But anyway, to celebrate this in-between holiday, here's chapter 6. But it has a bit of a twist.**

**Sora: What's the twist?**

**JAM: Can't tell you. You'll have to read and find out. But first, do the disclaimer. **

**Sora: *sigh* Fine. Janus-Juan owns nothing except for the plot, barely.**

**JAM: You know what? I'm used to it by now. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 6: Tying Loose Ends**

"Let's head on out!" Sora motioned for everyone to follow him as he made his way to the door that leading to the staircase. Just before he made it there, a force field appeared, stopping him in his tracks. "What the—?" He began pounding up against the obstacle, only to see it hold out against his attacks.

"Before you leave to help your friend, there is something you must do." Yen Sid explained the reason as to why he summoned the force field. "Or rather, someplace you must go to first."

"And where would that be?" Aqua asked, a bit miffed at delaying her reunion with Ven, but decided that Yen Sid knew best.

"You must make your way to Radiant Garden before you head off to Castle Oblivion."

"But why there?" Tilting her head to the side, Aqua asked curiously.

"I cannot say, but you'll know why once you get there." Raising his hand, the force field disappeared, causing Sora's face to get better acquainted with the floor. Groaning, he got back on his own two feet, with the help of Riku and Kairi.

"Smooth…" Riku told him, earning himself a glare from Sora. Kairi giggled at their childish antics, as did the Nobodies inside their Others.

_**/**_

Our heroes were aboard the Gummi Ship, heading for Radiant Garden. It would take a while before they arrived there so they had to things to keep them occupied. The Disney crew were at the controls, navigating through the hazards of enemy ships. The Keyblade wielders were all down in the Training Simulator, practicing their attacks. They were in an exact replica of Twilight Town's Struggle Arena.

"Ok, I'm going to start out by teaching you guys something my Master taught me and my friends when we were under his training. It's called a Command Style. They activate after you use specific attacks." Dummy Heartless appeared on the arena, twitching and moving around like their counterparts. Aqua sent a barrage of **Fire **spells at the enemy and then some direct attacks. Flames surrounded her body causing everyone to become awed at the display.

"This one is called **Firestorm** and it activates after using **Fire**-based attacks. This one, like others, is a very common Command Style." By now the flames vanished and **Firestorm **ended. "But that's not all. There are also Command Styles that are exclusive to the fighters." More enemies appeared and the blunette shot varying magic attacks at them. **Blizzard, Fire, and Thunder **attacks were hurtled before she began to glow a pinkish aura as she activated her **Spellweaver **Command Style. Now when she attacked her Keyblade seemed to defy gravity. To finish it off, she pointed her weapon in the air and spun around at high speed, causing a tornado to surround her and destroy the monsters.

Panting, she heard clapping and cheering coming from the sidelines. "Now it's your turns. Try out different combinations and see what kind of Styles you can get."

Kairi tried to activate **Firestorm **and it took her a while but she managed to do it. Her body was covered in flames, but she didn't feel anything but a slight warmth. "Whoa, this feels weird." Once it died down, she tried using different attacks to see if anything would happen. Nothing… "_sigh _This is harder than I thought."

Riku had just activated **Diamond Dust **and he felt a slight chill going up his body. Every attack he did was followed by an ice shard that annihilated his enemies. He finished it up by shooting large chunks of ice that hit the surrounding Heartless and destroying them.

The last of the Keyblade Wielder, Sora, was in the **Thunderbolt **Command Style and was sizzling all those that attacked him with the **Thunder**-based attacks the Style gave him. The finishing move had him summon a ball of light over his Keyblade. He then thrusted the weapon into it, causing multiple lightning bolts to rain over the Heartless.

"Good job! Now we'll try activating your own unique styles. Let it come naturally and see what attacks you think would be effectvie." Just then the intercom buzzed into the simulator.

"Guys, we have arrived in Radiant Garden. Please get to the cockpit for departure." Donald's voice rang across the room. Making their way out of the room, they were walking closer to their goal, whatever that may be.

_**/**_

_Darkness was hiding something from view. A drop of light fell on the piece of Darkness and it began shining. Letters appeared to spell out the name __**Radiant Garden**__ above a partly damaged town that was surrounded by a stone wall. A castle stood in the distance, mechanical parts hanging on the brick work. The whole thing was surrounded by an aura of Darkness. _

The Gummi Ship dropped everyone but Mickey off just outside the Postern of the Castle. Mickey had decided to stay with the Gummi Ship to make sure nothing happened to it. The others started walking to get to the Bailey when a bright light started glowing from inside Aqua's right pocket. "What in the world?" Digging inside her pocket, she looked for the source. She finally pulled out the cause of the light, her Wayfinder.

Once the item was out in the open, it literally jumped out of her hand and started flying towards the basement of the Castle.

"Follow that Flying Object!" Sora yelled at his companions as he bolted after the Wayfinder. Everyone else followed after him into the basement. They had to go left and right past turns after the star. Finally the labyrinth stopped as it entered into the Computer Room.

Gasping for breath they walked up to the star that was bouncing up and down in front of the large computer that housed Tron's world, Space Paranoids. "Finally! Man that thing was hard to track down." Sora was bent over, hands on his knees trying to recover all the oxygen he lost.

"Tell me about it. But now that we caught up to it, what do we do?" Riku, always the voice of reason, spoke up. Everyone turned to face the owner of the object, Aqua, for help.

Shrugging her shoulders she answered truthfully. "Beats me. From what I can gather, something in the computer is causing it to react." Going up in front of the Wayfinder, she was about to grab it when it suddenly went into a CD slot for the computer.

"Loading contents on disk…" A robotic voice spoke from the computer, sounding familiar to Sora, Donald, and Goofy. It was their old friend Tron, the new MCP.

On the screen, an empty space appeared. "Opening lock routine…now!" The word **Another** was typed into the space and something else popped up. On the screen, a lock was set up with 6 slots surrounding it, 3 on each side. "Input password." Tron spoke to the occupants of the room. Before anyone could move, the CD slot began glowing. The light blinded everyone. When they looked back at the screen, they were all surprised.

"Password Accepted." All the slots on the screen were filled in. The names Xehanort, Braig, Dilan, Even, Aeleus, and Ienzo occupied the empty spaces. "System Start." As soon as he said this, the CD slot ejected the small star from its confinement. Once that was done, it bounced into the air and through the door to the right of the computer. They had no choice but to follow, again.

They were led to a small platform that overlooked a sort of docking bay. When Donald, who was at the front of the line, touched it, the platform started to shake underneath the feet of the gathered.

"Earthquake!" Goofy screamed. "Hurry and make yourself seem bigger…wait that's for bear attacks. Quick, grab onto something and don't panic."

"Uh, Goofy…" Kairi tried to explain to him about the source of the 'earthquake'. A huge door opened up on the ground in front of them, leading somewhere deep underground.

"I said don't panic!" The dog-man seems to have gone into hysterics and there was only one way to snap him out of it. Donald jumped into the air and slapped the backside of Goofy's head with his staff, hard. Goofy calmed down but it looked like he didn't feel the hit.

"Didn't that hurt at all?" Kairi was a bit shocked that Goofy didn't yowl in pain or even wince at the hit.

"Nah. I've been hit in the head so many times that I'm used to it." He said happily causing Kairi to give him an are-you-crazy look.

"You guys! Now is not the time for this. Have you not noticed the gigantic door in front of us?" As to emphasize the point, Riku pointed at the opening on the ground.

"That's right." Sora said and stated walking towards the hole.

"Wak! Where are you going?" Donald asked.

"That way. To the door. Are you scared?" Turning back to face the duck, he gave him a mocking look, hands on his hips.

"Aw, don't be ridiculous! Come on let's go Goofy!" Donald walked to the brown haired teen with Goofy at his shoes. The rest gave each other worried glances and after a few seconds followed them down the platform. Once they all passed by the slanting metal, it vanished into thin air!

"Well there's turning back now…" Kairi gulped and looked down over the edge to see if she could make out where they were going. She had no such luck as the spiraling staircase seemed to go on forever.

What they didn't notice was a shadow following behind them.

_A few million steps later…_

After walking down a large amount, they finally made it in front of a mechanical door that whooshed open. They were greeted by a small, gray hallway that had 6 doors on the left and 6 on the right. Each one had a control panel in front of them and bars on them, showing a small glimpse inside. At the far end of the hall stood one last door. This one stood out from the rest. Chains decorated the front and appeared to lead inside from underneath the door.

"What is this place?" Kairi asked, amazed that such a place existed so far underground.

"I don't know, but it kind of gives me the creeps." Goofy hugged himself as a shiver went down his spine. They were just outside the chained door now.

"Come on guys, there's nothing to be afraid of." Sora reassured them. Suddenly the door opened up all by itself and they were greeted by a huge gray room. Chains and the Nobody symbol covered the walls with a throne in the middle. At the far end of the room was an old, rusty armor. It was dark bluish with grey parts on it. Right next to it was a Keyblade that looked to be in the same manner as the armor, the color turned dark after years of not being used.

"Well what do you call that?" Kairi pointed at the disembodied armor.

Aqua dashed across the room and knelt next to the armor. "This is my old armor." This earned confused and shocked looks from everyone else. "But how did it get all the way down here?" Touching the shoulder, the armor started shining before it became an orb of light and went inside her shoulder guard.

Once it disappeared, she tapped her shoulder guard and in a flash of light she was covered from head to toe in the armor that was on the ground only a moment ago. Only difference was that it was no longer rusty and even looked brand new. Taking the Keyblade from its spot, she weighed it up and down before dismissing it to wherever their magical weapons disappear to.

"Whoa…" Looks of shock turned into ones of awe and amazement. Aqua giggled at the looks they were giving her. To her this wasn't as amazing as they thought it was.

"How did you do that?" Kairi asked.

"Yeah that was awesome! Do you think we could get cool armor like that?" Sora was almost bouncing off the walls in excitement.

"Yeah, can we?" Kairi was in the same condition as the brunette. Though Riku was quiet, he also wanted one of those cool armors for himself.

"I don't see why not. In fact, this could benefit your training." Summoning her signature Keyblade, Stormfall, she pointed up in front of her and muttered an incantation. Placing her left hand on the blade of Stormfall, three objects materialized right in front of the Destiny Island kids and fell on the palm of their hands.

The objects were shoulder guards; one for each of the Keyblade wielders. Kairi's resembled Aqua's as it was a two-piece. The difference was that it was colored pink and golden. Sora's looked similar to the one Ven used years ago. Finally Riku received a long, dark purple arm guard that covered his whole left arm.

Slipping the items on, the Keyblade wielders touched the button on the shoulder and were engulfed in light. When it died down, they were all wearing their very own armor! Kairi's looked like a smaller version of Aqua's armor, to match her body size. The color scheme was different, though, Most of the thing was light pink with certain parts being a golden color. It provided both speed and protection as it wasn't too heavy to move around in.

Sora's looked exactly like Ven's armor but the colors were Dark Blue and Red instead of Ven's green and blue colors. It was more for agility than anything else but it did provide protection against enemies. _Looks like Ven had an influence on his armor. _Aqua thought as she looked them over.

Riku's armor was different from the rest as his didn't match anybody else's. It was Dark purple in color and it was more for combat than anything else. The armor provided great defense against anyone who dared to fight him. Not like he needed it that much.

"Whoa! Would you look at us?" Kairi said, twirling in her suit of armor. The other two were getting into fighting stances with their Keyblades out so they could get more used to it. They had long since taken off their helmets.

"Ok, enough dilly-dallying guys. We really should be on our way." Aqua decided that enough time had passed and she was in a hurry to get Ven.

"But what about your Wayfinder?"

"Oh! I almost forgot. Does anyone know where it went?" Looking around the room, Sora thought he saw something moving near the throne. Upon closer examination, he saw that a small star-shaped object was placed on the seat.

"Found it!" Sora yelled at the same time Kairi did. Giving each other confusing glances they walked up to Aqua. Holding out the star objects, they showed each one to Aqua.

"Hmm, this one is definitely mine." She said looking at the one Kairi held in her hand. Taking it she turned to Sora. When did, though, she gasped. In his hand he had an item that looked almost identical to the one Aqua had kept for all these years. The only difference was that it was red instead of blue.

"I can't believe it. This is…" Taking it from Sora's outstretched hand she held it up high to see it better.

"What is it Aqua?" Sora asked her.

"It's one of the Wayfinders I made for my friends and I. This one used to belong to Terra." A small tear slid down her cheek. But it wasn't one of sadness, but of joy at all the memories of her and the tall brunette.

"Whatever happened to him?" Kairi asked.

"I'm not sure. The last time I saw him, he wasn't…himself." She told the rest of her party of her fight with Terra and how the Darkness had gotten to him. She also explained that at the end of their fight, he started falling into the Realm of Darkness and the only way to save him was by sacrificing her armor and freedom.

"That's such a sad story."

"Yeah, but with this I know that he is ok." Aqua stated with confidence.

"Yeah, I bet you're right. Hey, how about after we help Ven we go looking for Terra?" Goofy told her excitedly.

"Goofy's right. The faster we get to Castle Oblivion, the faster we can help out Aqua's friends." Sora said.

"Sora…thank you." Aqua felt like hugging the boy in front of her with all her newfound joy.

He gave her one of his famous grins before heading he led everyone out the door.

Back in the room, a shadow rose from behind the throne. His body wasd partially covered by bandages, mouth included. The bandages on its muscular chest lied right above a hole that was in the shape of a heart. The bottom of the body was in fact a tail instead of legs. Its long antennas twitched as he turned his gold eyes to the departing heroes. At seeing the others leaving out the door at the end of the hall, its mouth gave off a crooked grin. His eyes glowed with malicious intent before it faded back into the floor, disappearing back to its master.

**/**

"Hey Aqua! Aren't you coming?" Our heroes were back to the surface and boarding the Gummi Ship. Aqua, on the other hand, was standing a couple of feet from the ship.

"No. I have a better idea." Transforming into her armor, she summoned Stormfall. Bending down, she threw her weapon into the air behind her. As it was coming back to her, it made a remarkable transformation. The blade had turned into a two-part bow-and-platform device. Jumping into the air, she boarded her new means of transportation.

"HOLY COW!" Riku screamed, earning shocked glances from his two best friends. Seeing this, he quickly composed himself and coughed into his closed hand. "I mean, that's pretty cool." Sora and Kairi looked at each other before they broke down into laughter.

Calming down, Sora asked Aqua something he's been dying to know. "How did you do that?"

Scratching the back of her head, Aqua answered. "I'm not exactly sure. All I need to do is throw it into the air and think of riding it and then it just transforms."

"Hmm…" Staring at the _Kingdom Key _he weighed out his options. Finally he bent down and threw it up into the air. As it came back, turned into a wavelike board. The body was gray with blue lines while the back thrusters were colored golden. It was sleek and mobile as it came down towards him. Doing a front flip, he expertly jumped onto the wave board.

"This is so awesome! Guys you've gotta try this." Flying above everyone else, Sora did flips and turns to get used to the thing.

"Let me try." Kairi said as she did the same thing the other two did, allowing it to transform into a flying scooter. The scooter was caramel colored, with flowers at the handles. There were two mini thrusters to the side of the main one. They were decorated with flowers as well. It came down to rest right beside her. Mounting it, she revved the handles and flew up into the air.

"Wahoo!" She yelled as she did tricks just like her spiky-haired best friend. Looking down, she saw Riku just standing there with his arms crossed. "Come on, Riku. Don't be such a party pooper."

"Yeah, join us Riku. Join us." Sora tried to convince the silver haired teen, chanting the same phrase over and over. Kairi joined him. After countless 'join us', Riku conceded.

"Alright, already! Sheesh." Throwing _Way to Dawn _into the air, he huffed in annoyance. Thinking of it turning into something awesome, he failed to notice what it turned into. The wings of his Keyblade ripped apart from the weapon, along with both halfs of the hilt. The hilt transformed into two roller blades, wheels at the bottom. The wings became the thrusters that allowed it to hover in the air. Right now they were stationed on the ground in front of Riku.

"Aw, that's it?" Stepping onto the skates, they magically zipped around his shoes. The wheels started rolling toward the edge of the platform. "Whoa! I can't control it." He tried moving away from where the skates wanted to take him only to see they wouldn't budge.

"Riku!" Sora and Kairi swooped down as fast as they're Gliders could take them. Sadly they weren't fast enough as Riku fell over the side of the circular platform, screaming as he did so.

"RIKU!" They yelled and glided close to the edge, trying to find their fallen friend.

Just as they looked over the edge, something unexpected happened. A flash of light engulfed Riku's skates and the original Way to Dawn's blade transformed into a platform of some kind. It looked like a large, crimson hover board with missile launchers at the front. Wings at the side allowed it to be easier to maneuver. The skates thrusters could be used to make the thing go faster. It propelled him right past his two best friend and into the air.

"Hey, what are you guys looking at?" He asked at their shocked looks. "Well don't just hover there; we should get a move on."

Back in the Gummi ship, the Disney crew were amazed at what new things the Keyblade Wielders managed to conjure up. Donald and Goofy turned to King Mickey wondering if he could also summon one of his own. Seeing their questioning glances, Mickey shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know." He answered their unsaid question.

Turning on the Gummi Ship, Mickey followed the others past the world's atmosphere and out into the confines of space.

**/**

Flying through empty space seemed to run smoothly for our heroes. A little too smoothly…

"Where are all the Heartless?" Riku asked.

"Yeah. I mean usually they would've attacked us by now." Looking around for any signs of danger, Sora spoke, a bit on edge.

Suddenly, laser fire was heard just above them. They barely had time to get out of the way before the ammo hit them. The Gummi Ship barrel rolled at the enemy ships, destroying some.

"Guess they were waiting for their chance." Speeding up to a ship, Sora threw his board at the ship, killing it. After the defeat of 9 Heartless, they banded together and attacked Sora at the same time. Bringing up a barrier, he managed to shield himself from their attacks but at the same time was being driven down by them.

"You leave Sora alone!" Diving down from her spot, she fired a bunch of **Fire **spells at those that dared to attack the spiky haired teen. Surrounding herself in a barrier, she had it covered in fire and then shot toward the last remaining ones.

"Kairi, that was amazing!" Sora rode over to her, dispersing his shield at the same time.

Giggling, she blushed at his comment. Luckily her helmet hid her reddening cheeks from view. "Aww, you're just saying that." She spoke shyly.

"Kairi, you totally just saved my butt! If it wasn't for you, I would be dead meat right about now."

"I'm sure you could've handled it."

"Yeah but…"

"Hey, guys! Stop your flirting; now isn't the time for that." Riku yelled after them, narrowly missing a bullet to the head. Leaning forward, he used the momentum as a boost, and propelled himself at the attacker and shot two missiles, sending it into submission. Aqua was using the bow feature on her vehicle to send energy shots at those who got too close.

Blushing, both teens went their separate ways and kept on fighting. This went on for a couple more minutes before all became quiet. No enemies were in site or their line of fire. Sighing in relief, they all dropped their battle stances and relaxed.

"Phew, those were a lot of Heartless ships." Sora lied down on the board, both hands behind his head.

"Oh, so the almighty Keyblade Master is already tired?" Riku smirked at his best friend, anticipating the glare the brown haired sent him.

"Yeah? Well you don't look so good yourself, hotshot." Sora shot back.

"Well, I took more out than you did."

"No, I did!"

"No, me!"

"Me!"

"I was—"

"Guys, calm down already!" Kairi was now in the middle of their petty squabble, trying to get the two to stop their bickering. Watching them, Aqua swore the three friends reminded her of how she and Ven and Terra used to behave years ago.

Sighing, both boys decided to give into the red head's demands and apologized.

"Good. Besides, I beat both your asses." She laughed a bit before gliding a ways away from the two. Upon hearing the comment, they started to chase right after her, laughing while doing it.

Their joy and merriment was short lived, however, as behind the Gummi Ship a lone _Dragonfly _Gummi fired a laser at the back rockets. The attack caused the Gummi to rattle and bolt the occupants forward. The rockets were engulfed in flames and without it the ship started to descend at an alarming rate.

"Help!" Donald screamed into the microphone, allowing the others to see what had happened. Sora followed after the Disney crew while Riku destroyed the _Dragonfly _with a shockwave.

"Hang on guys!" Sora managed to put out the fire on the burning rocket, but the red and yellow ship was still diving down. That wouldn't be such a problem, except for the fact that they were heading straight towards a planet that was directly below them. The other Keyblade Wielders joined up with him, trying in vain to stop the Gummi's descent.

"Everyone pull harder!" Sora yelled out to everyone. They were getting closer to the world.

"It's no use; it's too heavy." Kairi yelled in exasperation.

"There's got to be something we could do." Sora yelled, not letting up his efforts, even as they were super close to the atmosphere.

Out of nowhere, the ship began slowing down a bit. Alarms started blaring from inside the cockpit. "Hey, what's happening?" Aqua asked, alarmed herself.

"Oh no!" Mickey screamed. Looking at the ship's computer, he found out what was causing the alarms to go haywire. "We've been caught in the planet's magnetic field. Now we're stuck and there's nothing we can do about it." Donald and Goofy started panicking and started writing down their wills.

"We can't just give up!" Even at this bit of evidence, Sora still tried to get them to safety. Sadly, his efforts caused him and everyone else to get stuck in the magnetic field.

"Aaahhh!" Everyone screamed as they fell down towards the planet.

**JAM: There, finally done. It was originally supposed to be shorter, but since I updated so late, I made it longer. **

**Riku: You should be ashamed of being so late.**

**JAM: I know, but I had so many different ideas that I had to start over again a couple of times before I finished it. But enough of my excuses. What did you guys think of Chapter 6? Did you like it? Hate it? Please RnR and tell me your thoughts. I already have next chapter thought out, so hopefully I'll get it done soon. **

**Kairi: Ok, so what world will we be landing in.**

**Sora: Don't you mean crashing in? *laughs and gets a slap to the back of the head from the red-head.***

**JAM: Can't tell you; you'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out. **

**Edit: Thanks to Atem's Sister Atea, I've changed Riku's Glider into one that looks similar to the Green Goblin's instead of the skates.**


	7. A Toy's Story

**JAM: Holy cow! It's already been 2 months since my last update? Wow, time goes by fast. Originally this was going to be a longer chapter, but I decided to give my readers an early Valentine's Day treat. So I divided it into 2 chapters. **

**Ven: Finally! I've been waiting for everyone to come and get me.**

**JAM: Yeah, yeah. You've waited 12 years, you can wait a little while longer can't you?**

**Ven: Well, yeah but… **

**JAM: Well, onwards with the chapter. Someone do the Disclaimer please.**

**Ven: *sigh* Guess it's my turn. Janus-Juan doesn't own anything but the plot. **

**JAM: Thanks. Oh wait, I almost forgot. Time to answer some reviews.**

**Flightfoot: I'll be getting to that later on. **

**Kh530: You'll just have to wait and see.**

**SetoshiArenhariKai: I was actually remembering how they crash landed in Deep Jungle when I wrote that.**

**delphigirl689: Yep, it's TerraxAqua. As for RikuxXion, I'm still thinking about that. I mean, she's technically Sora who looks like Kairi, which would make it kind of awkward. But that doesn't rule them out yet.**

**: Thanks.**

**JAM: Now here's chapter 7. **

**Chapter 7: A Toy Story**

They say your life flashes before your eyes before you depart from the world of the living. That was exactly what was happening with Sora at the moment; from his happy time of his childhood to his ascent to hero status because of the Keyblade.

"Well, I guess this is it." He said staring at everyone else. They could barely move their bodies as they reached the atmosphere of the planet.

"Don't give up!" Kairi screamed at him. She tried to use the thrusters on her scooter to move upwards but it was in vain as it wouldn't budge.

"Kairi's right; there has to be something we can do." Riku was worse off than the others as his giant Glider was extremely heavy and weighed him down.

Realization dawned on Aqua's face. "Maybe there is." After earning confusion from her fellow party members, she explained what she meant. "I bet if we make a bubble large enough to hold us, we could land on the surface without causing us much harm."

Everyone grew happy at the thought of a safe landing. "Everyone release your Gliders and summon your Keyblades." She instructed. They did as they were told. In the Gummi Ship Mickey and Donald summoned their own weapons. "Ok, so at the count of three, conjure up a **Reflect** spell. Imagine it surrounding us." She received nods in return before they got their weapons ready for the spell.

"One…Two…Three!" On cue, 6 **Reflect **spells were shot at the same time. Ultimately, a huge bubble of hexagonal figures surrounded the 4 armored riders and the Gummi Ship, which was in its own bubble, courtesy of King's Court Magician and the King himself.

Hitting the atmosphere, the bubble grew hot and was engulfed in flame. The heat was seeped through the shield and started to cook everyone inside alive. This put a strain on their concentration.

"Phew, it's getting hot in here." Sora started fanning his face with his left hand, holding _Kingdom Key_ out with the other one.

"Don't stop. Whatever you do, don't let up." Riku told the others. The ground was getting closer and closer until they saw their destination: a two-story's window.

**/**

_Building blocks were stacked up, one on top of another. Suddenly a flying object came into view and flew right past the blocks, causing them to turn in circles. As they stopped, the words __**Action Figure's Suburb **__was spelled out. Finally the flying object touched down on in front and we see a green space toy with wings. Signaling for someone to come to him, a dozen toys raced past, each grabbing a block out of the screen._

Toys were gathered around a baby monitor on a nightstand, hearing whoever was on the other end of it. A cowboy action figure was sitting on the bed next to it. He was obviously the one in charge.

"Ok, we're on the last present now." The baby monitor spoke to those gathered.

"Last present!" The cowboy exclaimed at the others.

"It's a big one. It's…It's…It's a boardgame! Repeat, Battleship!" Everyone cheered at this bit of news.

"Yeah, alright!" The pink piggy bank said and hit the Mr. Potato Head toy in front of him, causing his right eye and hat to fall off his head.

"Hey! Watch it." The potato told him.

"Sorry there old spud head." The pig apologized.

"So did I tell ya? Huh? Nothing to worry about." The cowboy asked told the others, shrugging.

A dog shaped slinky toy looked at the cowboy. "I knew you were right all along, Woody. Never doubted you for a second." Giving a slight glare to everyone around once he finished.

Suddenly they heard a slight boom coming from the outside. Looking out the window, there was a red dot out in the distance.

"What is that?" A girl in a white dress with pink lining and a hat to match asked. On her hand was a white staff, most likely used for herding if the sheep next to her had anything to say about it.

"I don't know Bo, but it's getting closer!" Woody screamed as the red dot did just that. "Everyone get someplace safe!" Yelling at the other toys, he directed them into their hiding places. Once everyone was safe and sound, he hid himself under the bed.

A giant bubble sphere crashed through the (luckily) opened window and landed right on the middle of the bed. Smoke erupted from the crashed object and rose up to the ceiling before it just popped out of existence. A red and yellow spaceship and 4 armored figures lay where the bubble had once been.

Groaning, Sora stood up on the bed, stretching his sore body. "What an entrance we made." Letting his armor disappear, he rubbed the back of his neck and looked around the room.

"_whistle _Would you look at this place. What giant lives in a place like this?" He was amazed at how big the room was. "Hey guys look at where we've ended up." Shaking the shoulders of the others, he started bouncing on the bed as if it was a trampoline.

"Five more minutes mom." Kairi said as she rolled around on the bed until she felt a pain in her head. Groaning, she rubbed her head. When she felt a helmet in place of her auburn hair, she shook away her dizziness and looked around. "Whoa." She said in amazement. Seeing Sora bouncing, she dispersed her armor and joined him.

"Would you guys knock it off? We have a problem here." Riku pointed at the Gummi Ship. Smoke was still rising but luckily the bed allowed the passengers to survive the crash. The Disney crew was carefully stepping out of the ship and onto solid bed.

"Oops, sorry." They both said, slightly embarrassed. They were about to help the others out when they saw slight movement from inside the slightly ajar door of the closet.

"Huh?" Sora saw some eyes coming from inside the closet. "Hey guys, I think there's someone in there." The rest stared at the direction he was pointing to.

"Wonder who they are." Riku said a bit skeptical.

"Hey! Whoever you are, you can come out now!" Riku hit his forehead with the palm of his hand at the bluntness of his friend. Sora used the comforter to slide down towards the ground. Once on the wooden surface, he continued. "Don't worry, we won't bite."

Seeing no danger from the off-worlders, the door opened enough so the inhabitants could come out. Woody, Hamm, and Slinky walked out into the open area of the room. Mr. Potato Head jumped out a chest on the left side of the room.

"Who the heck are you guys?" The spud asked the newcomers, not caring if it sounded rude.

"Whoa! Talking toys!" Sora said in amazement at the situation.

"Just answer the question. And where did you guys come from?" His temper was beginning to get the better of him.

"Yeah, you don't look like any toys I've ever seen." Woody was now in front them, going in circles around the gang, trying to get a better look. "In fact, you look just like a human. Well, except for the height."

"Uh…" Sora vaguely remembered that they while traveling the various worlds; they had to protect the world border. He was at a loss for words, rapidly thinking of an explanation.

"We're one of those new state of the art toys." Kairi had followed Sora down the bed and butted in just in time.

"Oh yeah? Then what about that?" Mr. Potato Head pointed at the object on the bed. Again, no one had an answer to their predicament.

"Uh…" They both said in unison.

Just before the interrogation could continue, the baby monitor started spewing out words. The device had turned face down by the toys in their haste to hide.

"What did they say?" Everyone was now gathered around the machine.

"Repeat, resume your positions." Upon hearing the soldier's warnings, Woody panicked.

"Andy's coming, everybody. Back to your places. Hurry!" As the toys ran like crazy, Woody turned to Sora and Kairi. "You and your friends need to hurry up and hide. Our owner, Andy, will be here soon and we can't let him see this." Nodding, Sora screamed to those on the bed to get under the bed.

"But wait, what about the Gummi Ship?" Kairi asked Sora. That would sure draw some attention.

"Don't worry. Chip and Dale added some stuff to the ship. Donald!" The duck looked over the bed to the spiky haired teen. "Use the cloaking device."

"Got it!" Donald Duck hit a button on the door frame of the vessel and suddenly, it jumped into the air. It started shaking and making noise as the thing started shrinking and shrinking until it was the size of Donald's feathered hand. While catching up to the others, he placed it in his jacket pocket. Woody, on the other hand, went up the bed and lay stiff on top of the pillow.

The door opened and 6 kids came crashing through the bedroom door, each one screaming in delight. From their spot under the bed, the crew saw that they were gushing over a space ship-shaped box one kid was moving in the air. They felt a small vibration up above.

"What was that?" Sora asked quietly. As if on cue, they heard a bump coming from behind them. Turning around, they came face-to-face with Woody, who was a bit in shock at what happened. A little while after, the kids left the room. When the coast was clear, the toys left their hiding spots and walked cautiously to the bed.

"What the heck is up there?" The slinky-toy asked.

"Woody! Who's up there with you?" Rex yelled. At the call of his name, Woody slid from underneath the bed to be greeted by shocked glances.

The same slinky toy spoke. "Woody? What are you doing under the bed?"

"Uh, nothing. I'm sure Andy was a little excited, that's all." He tried to convince them, while getting himself less dusty. "Too much and ice cream, I suppose. It was just a mistake!"

The old spud wasn't having it and snidely remarked. "That _mistake _is sitting in your spot Woody." This caused the green Dino to worry himself silly as he gasped.

"Have you been replaced?"

"Hey, what did I tell you earlier? No one is getting replaced. Now let's all be polite and give whatever-it-is-up-there a nice Andy room's welcome."

The toys watched as Woody used the comforter to climb to the top of the bed. No one paid attention to the out-worlders as they walked out from under the bed and to the closet, leaving the door slightly ajar. Once safely away from the wondering eyes of the rest, Donald placed the Gummi Block on the ground and watched as it expanded to its original size.

"So, Donald, what's the status report?" King Mickey asked the Court Magician, who had gone in with a flashlight to check out what went wrong.

"It seems our rocket system has been shot and without it we won't be able to fly. But the worst part is that the turbulence we experienced and the explosions have caused the power core to overheat itself to death." Donald explained once he exited the ship.

"In English please." Kairi said, tilting her head to the right.

"No core, no power. It's as simple as that."

"Don't you have a backup power system?" Aqua asked the duck, who shook his head.

"We didn't count for this sort of thing to happen so to save space for the rest of you guys, we got rid of our backup reserves."

"Great, so we're stranded here?" Riku asked, incredulously.

"Not exactly. Me, Donald, and Goofy are stranded here; you guys can use your Gliders to get out of here." Mickey told his friend, with Donald and Goofy agreeing with what he was said. This automatically earned him heavy protests from the rest.

"You don't expect us to leave you guys here all alone, do you?" Riku spoke first.

"Riku's right; we all have to stick together." Aqua said.

"Yeah, right Sora?" Kairi asked the brunette. When she received no response, she turned to see that he was nowhere to be found. "Um, where's Sora"

Everyone looked around and surely, he wasn't there. Suddenly, they heard a commotion coming from atop Andy's bed. Deciding it wise, they walked over to the foot of the bed to see what was going on.

"Uh, Mr. Lightyear. "I'm a bit curious. What does a Space Ranger actually do?" They heard Rex say.

"He's not a Space Ran_ger_!" Woody shouted in annoyance. "He doesn't fight evil or shoot lasers or fly!"

"Do you think we should check it out?" Riku whispered in Kairi's ear.

"I think we should. Besides, Sora might be up there." Her assumptions rang true as when they reached the peak, they saw Sora's trademark spiky hair. He seemed to be enjoying the debate between Woody and a green and white astronaut toy. The astronaut had some sort of plastic wings on his back.

"These are plastic." Woody told the others as he shook them up and down. This didn't abide well with the space toy.

"Who's the astronaut?" Riku asked his best friend.

"His name's Buzz and he's a Space Ranger."

"He _thinks _he's a Space Ranger." Woody corrected. "He can't fly."

"They are a terilleum carbonic allow and I _can_ fly." Buzz spoke at the cowboy's comment.

"_No_, you can't."

"Yes, I can."

"You can't!"

"I can tell you I can fly around this room with my eyes closed!" Buzz boasted.

"Ok, then Mr. LightBeer, prove it." Woody sounded all smug when he challenged Buzz.

"Alright, then, I will. Stand back everyone!" Buzz walked over to the foot of the bed and lifted himself onto a wooden ball on the right side of the foot board.

"Is he crazy? He could hurt himself." Aqua said, worriedly.

"It'd serve him right." Woody said under his breath, but Aqua heard him. Deciding not to say anything, she kept herself quiet.

Balancing himself, he looked over the edge, both arms pointed in a diving position. But that wasn't all, he closed his eyes as he was getting ready to follow through with his crazy stunt.

"To Infinity and Beyond!" He yelled as he pushed himself over the railing and down to the ground. Luckily, there was a bouncy ball right below him, which caused him to somersault into the air. He landed right on top of a small toy car that was over a ramp. Sliding down the ramp, he did a loop-da-loop before he was projected to the ceiling. Somehow, his wings caught on a toy plane that was hung on the ceiling. With his left arm forward and his other at his waist, it made it seem as if he was actually flying. After a couple of circles, his wings managed to dislodge from the plane and he flipped down onto the bed, in front of his spectators.

Opening his eyes, he caught sight of Woody and gloated at what he did. "Can!" He told the shocked cowboy. The rest of the toys started cheering and applauding. "Thank you. Thank you all."

Trying to explain what had happened; Woody tried to tell the others his explanation. "That wasn't flying. That was…falling with style." No one seemed to have heard him or, if they did, they chose to ignore him.

While the other toys were fawning over Buzz, Slink was standing near Woody, also commenting on Buzz. "Wow, howdy!" He said.

"Oh shut up. Well, in a couple of days everything will be the way it was before. They'll see." Woody told the dog.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Aqua muttered.

_A couple of Days later…_

The cowboy's jealousy had skyrocketed as he's been ignored for the last few days. All the cowboy memorabilia, like the posters and the bedspread, have been replaced by Buzz Lightyear stuff. Heck, even his friends have been hanging out with Buzz more than with him. He's become slightly bitter against the rest of the toys for it.

The previous night, Andy had to choose between Woody and Buzz as a bed buddy and you can guess which of them was chosen. Right now, Woody was waking up from his slumber in the toy chest, making sure the coast was clear before lifting the top. Gasping for lack of oxygen or sighing in relief, he stood up.

"Finally!" He exclaimed. Putting his hand to his head, he noticed that his signature hat wasn't there. "Hey, who's got my hat?"

A squishy shark stood up right next to Woody with the cowboy's hat on his head. "Look, I'm Woody! Howdy, howdy, howdy." It was a funny site, seeing the shark pretending to be Woody. But Woody was still in a bad mood so he decided to sarcastically laugh.

"Give me that!" Snatching the piece of clothing from the other toy, he jumped out of the trunk. Hearing Buzz's voice, Woody turned to find him talking to Slink and Rex.

"Say there Lizard, Stretchy-Dog, and Spiky-Haired-Kid, let me show you something. It seems I've been accepted into the cult. Your chief, Andy, inscribed his name on me." Raising his right foot, it showed the name **Andy** on it.

"Wow! With permanent ink, too!" Rex stated.

"That's great Buzz." Sora said.

"Well, I must get back to repairing my ship." Buzz started moving to his cardboard ship that was mounted on Alphabet blocks.

"I should go help the others with our ship." Sora followed Buzz to the ship that was placed right next to the other ship, right in front of the white crib.

Lifting his own boot up, Woody inspected Andy's name, thinking back to the good times he and the kid had before Buzz showed up.

"Don't let it get to you Woody." Bo said, trying to calm her boyfriend down.

"I don't know what you mean." Woody tried to lie his way out of it.

"I know Andy's excited about Buzz. But you know he'll always have a special place for you."

Just then Mr. Potato Head walked by and overheard their conversation. "Yeah, in the attic." He then started laughing at the cowboy's expense.

"Alright, that's it!" He made his way to Buzz, who was laying down on a skateboard, underneath the ship.

"Give me some unidirectional boding strip." He told the little toy robot.

"Can I have a voltaic pile please?" Like Buzz, Donald was trying to fix the parts that were broken inside the ship using whatever resources they had at their disposal.

Turning to his helpers the robot instructed for the necessary parts. "Mr. Lightyear wants more tape and the duck needs another triple-A battery." A body-builder held onto the tape dispenser while a snake broke off a piece. Riku and Kairi came walking in with a battery in their hands and handed it to Donald.

Woody now stood in front of the space toy and pulled him and the skateboard from under his project. While craning his head to meet Woody's gaze, Woody started talking. "Listen here, Light-Snack. Keep away from Andy, he's mine. And no one is taking him away from me."

Right behind him, Goofy covered his mouth and whispered something to Sora. "How hard is it to say Light-Beer."

Dropping his head at his friend's mistake, Sora chuckled a bit before answering. "It's Lightyear, Goofy. Buzz Lightyear."

"Oh…" The dog-man said. "But, why—"

"Quit your yammering and come help me with this!" Donald yelled from inside the ship, glaring at the two until they joined in the helping.

Back to the spaceman, he was confused by what Woody said. "What are you talking about?" He told him before going back to work. "Where's that bonding strip?" He asked then slid back under the rocket. Woody pulled him out yet again before speaking.

"And another thing, stop with this spaceman thing. It's getting on my nerves."

"Are you saying you want to file a complaint against Star Command?" Buzz started to get angry.

Right near the Gummi Ship, Aqua was trying to use the battery's power to create a decent sized power core for the ship. Sighing, she turned to Mickey. "Here they go again. What is this, the 10th time this week?"

"12th, but who's counting?" Mickey laughed and Aqua joined him before going back to the task at hand. Using fire, she covered her hands in it and started melding the metal of the battery into the shape of a ball the size of her fist. Smiling at her work, she summoned a small barrier around the object and then chanted a Lightning spell to surround the barrier.

"There we go! Donald, I'm done at my end!" She yelled at the wizard.

"Ok, pass it over."

"Alright then." Throwing it into the air, she summoned a **Zero Graviga **spell to move the electrically charged object down into the ship. Following it, she made her way to the power core, or what was left of it anyway. In the middle of the room, a circular pillar stood, showing her where the new power core would be placed.

"Place it on the cylinder carefully." Donald instructed.

Nodding, she walked slowly to her destination. Once the ball was right above the pillar, she lowered it as gently as she could. Dispersing the spell, the core fell right onto the space with a plop. As if instantly, the electrical pulses rippled down the pillar and towards the fuel cells at each side. A whirring sound echoed against the walls, showing that the ship's power has been restored.

"Yes! It worked!" Aqua shouted to the others outside.

"Great, now all we need are rockets and we'll be ready to go." Mickey said, cheerfully.

"But where are we going to find rockets in a place like this?" Donald asked, dragging down everyone's spirits.

"Uh, guys? I think I've solved our problems." The occupants heard Sora yell down for them. "Come on out so I can show you."

Following his instruction, those inside the ship returned back to the room. Turning their heads, they spotted Sora and the others were up on the windowsill, staring outside with the toys. Using the chair next to the desk, they went to stand right next to the rest.

"Sora? What did you find?" Aqua asked the brunette.

"Look." Handing over a pair of binoculars, Sora pointed towards the neighbor's yard. Looking through the lens, she saw an soldier toy standing in the yard, a rocket on its back.

"Why is that toy strapped with a rocket on its back?" She asked Sora.

"That's why. Sid." Moving the binoculars a bit to the right, Sora further explained. Problem was, Sora pointed at the barking dog.

"Sure is a hairy fellow." She said.

"What?" Staring through one of the lenses, Sora understood the problem. "No, no. That's Scud. I'm such an idiot. That's Sid." Moving up a bit more, Aqua got a glimpse of a 10-year-old child laughing maniacally.

"You mean that happy child?"

"He ain't no happy child. He tortures toys for fun." Riku muttered, loud enough for Aqua to hear.

"Whoa, déjà vu." Slink said to Rex, who nodded his head. Moments ago, Woody and Buzz had a similar talk about the next door neighbor.

"Well, we've gotta do something." Buzz said, standing on the edge of the window. Luckily, Bo used her pasture stick to hold him back.

"What are you doing? Get down from there" She said.

"I'm going to teach that boy a lesson." He tried to explain his actions.

"Yeah, sure, go ahead. Melt him with your scary laser." Woody said, sarcastically while raising Buzz's right arm and pressing a red button on his wrist. A small beeping sound blared and a small red light shined once he pressed it, causing Buzz to pull it away.

"Be careful with that. It's extremely dangerous." He reprimanded.

Just then, the small binoculars jumped from Aqua's grasp and landed on the windowsill. "He's lighting it. He's lighting it! Hit the deck!" It warned the others. Everyone ducked down to avoid whatever came next. The rocket blew and the poor toy soldier exploded into a dozen pieces, its limbs dismembered from its body.

Raising her head, Kairi felt nauseous at the sight of what was rest of the body. "What kind of kid does that sort of thing?" She asked no one in particular.

"I could've stopped it." Buzz said.

"Buzz, I would love to see you try it. Course, I'd love to see you as a crater." Woody told him.

Ignoring the bickering duo, Aqua started thinking about the situation. Sora and Kairi took notice and asked her what she was thinking about.

"I think," She said, "I have a plan." Smirking she and the rest of the crew huddled up and they were both excited, but also nervous, when they heard it.

**JAM:** **Bwahaha! There's my chapter and I'm ending it with a cliffhanger. Sorry if it seems a bit rushed.**

**Sora: Just what are you planning to do? **

**JAM: You'll have to wait and see. But the most of it is probably obvious. *shrugs***

**Riku: That's true. We'll have to…**

**JAM: Don't ruin the suspense. Well that's it for this chapter, and I hope my readers will be ready for the next one. So please review and I'll try to get the conclusion to this world done sooner.**


	8. Recon Mission

**Naminé: Happy St. Patrick's Day. *gets piched* Ow! What was that for?**

**Sora: You're not wearing green. *gets pinched back* Hey!**

**Naminé: Well you're not either. *smirks***

**Sora: *grins* You got me there. Actually, isn't there only KH original character who wears green? *Looks at Ven***

**Ven: That's why I love this holiday *is saved from pinching*.**

**JAM: Anyway, I have a treat for you guys (sort of). To celebrate this holiday, I've decided to give you a new chapter. **

**Sora: But it's so short. **

**JAM: I was going to leave this in the next chapter to make it longer, but then decided looked at how long it's been since I last updated; a month. Seriously? I used to update twice a month before this semester started. But with all the FCAT practice and essays in English, I don't have much time to write. Luckily today, I had no homework to do so I was like "What the heck. I'll write something." And here it is. **

**Ven: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just get on with it. **

**Naminé: I'll do the disclaimer! JAM doesn't own anything except for the plot. If he did, we would've gotten more info on KH 3D by now. **

**JAM: Yep. Guess I'll have to wait until E3 for more info, hopefully. **

**Chapter 8: Recon Mission**

"Hey watch it!" Sora yelled as his foot was trampled on. Glaring at Riku, Sora pushed Riku as an act of reveange.

"Why don't you watch it?" Riku glared right back. This caused both the boys to get into a mini-fight.

"Keep it down you guys! We don't want to wake the others up." Kairi whispered as loud as she could at her two best friends, smacking the back of their heads for their childish actions.

Night had fallen and all was quiet. Andy was asleep on his bed, dreaming the hours away, with Buzz lying right next to him. Once again, Woody was stuck in the toy chest with the other toys, jealousy coursing through his veins. That is if his plastic body had veins…

"Sorry Kai, it's just too dark for us to see." Rubbing the sore spot, Sora apologized, knowing Kairi didn't hold grudges; she was generally a pure-hearted person. Only if someone pushed her too far did she let her frustration show.

True to his thoughts, Kairi sighed in exasperation but smiled her most radiant smile at him. "Alright, I forgive you. Just don't let it happen again."

Saluting, Sora answered. "Yes ma'am."

Giggling, she kept walking to catch up with the others. Sora stared after her as she got farther away. He was brought out of his stupor at hearing Riku chuckling.

"She's got you wrapped around her little finger; I wouldn't want to be you right now." Dodging a punch to the face, Riku scampered off after the rest of the group, laughing along the way as Sora kept trying to clobber him.

**/**

Standing on the windowsill they were at that very same afternoon, everyone but the Disney Crew were getting ready to take the plunge.

"Are you sure you guys don't want to come?" Sora asked those that were staying behind.

"Yep! Besides, we wouldn't be able to make it to the other house without the Gummi Ship, which isn't ready for trips just yet." Mickey explained.

"Ok, then." Sora walked up to the other Keyblade Wielders. Aqua was standing in front of the glass, Keyblade in hand. Lifting it up, she conjured up a levitation spell and the window began to rattle. Sweat poured from Aqua at the exertion she was doing to lift something of that size. After a while, she managed to open the window enough for them to squeeze through. Panting softly, she turned to see the others' worried face.

"Are you ok?" Sora asked.

Wiping the sweat from her face, she nodded. "Yeah, just a little tired. It'll pass." Composing herself, she got straight to business.

"Is everyone ready?" The others nodded in confirmation. "Then let's go."

Summoning her Glider, she looked to see the others doing the same. Getting on their respective vehicles, they exited the confines of the house and into the chilly night air.

Hovering to the house next door, they peaked through the window to make sure the kid was asleep. Their suspicions were proved true when they heard snoring and muttering of Sid saying 'Pizza Planet' a couple of times.

"Alright, let's get in there." Aqua hovered about 5 meters from the glass window and aimed her index and middle fingers at a spot in the lower left corner. Bringing up the powers of her magical arsenal, she thought of the tingles she usually gets from electrical currents and channeled it to the tips of her outstretched fingers, causing them to glow in a blue hue. Making sure to use only a small amount of her powers, she muttered **Lightning** and let it loose. Moving her fingers 360 degrees clockwise, she made a hole big enough for them to pass through.

"There we go. Now, when we get in there, I need total silence." Aqua instructed before entering through the just made entrance.

"I think she's talking to you, Sora." Riku joked, earning a glare from the brunette.

"Come on you guys. It's freezing out here." Kairi shivered to emphasize her point. Stepping into the room, she allowed the heater to warm her up.

_**Wow, she's already cold? Wait until she sees what snow is like. Then she'll know what freezing's really like.**_Sora heard Roxas say.

_And the fact that she's wearing such a short dress in this weather isn't helping any. _

_**Don't act like you don't like what she's wearing. It really shows off her figure.**_ Sora could practically see Roxas smirking, causing Sora to blush.

_Well what about Naminé? Her dress only goes down to her mid-thighs and you can see her long, pale legs. _Sora retaliated.

"You know, we can hear you!" Both Sora and Roxas stopped their talk when they heard Kairi yelling at them, only to be silenced seconds later by Aqua.

_**Crap, I forget they can hear our thoughts when we're in close proximity. How much do you think they heard?**_

"We heard enough to know you're both complete idiots." Kairi poked appeared from the hole, Naminé levitating right next to her, see-through. Naminé's cheeks were flushed pink, her left hand unconsciously trying to lower her dress. Kairi was glaring at Sora and his see-through Nobody, arms crossed and tapping her foot. "Do you have anything to say for yourselves?"

Having gone pale, Sora and Roxas caught each other's eyes, thinking of a course of action before nodding at one another. Turning to the two girls, they showed their remorse and answered.

"We're sorry." They replied in unison.

Sighing in slight annoyance, Kairi glided over to Sora and pulled him inside by the ear while Naminé grabbed a hold of Roxas's hand and pulled him along. This earned whining from the almighty savior of worlds and a blush from his Nobody.

Riku, who had just witnessed everything, shook his head in amusement. "I'll say it again; they are so whipped." Before anyone came out to shove him inside, he entered the quiet house.

_Sid's Room_

The room was like any other room—nice and spacious for our toy-sized warriors. But something seemed off about the place. Usually rooms are depicted as warm and cozy, but this one sent chills upon our heroes' backs.

"_shiver_…Does anyone else feel cold?" Kairi asked, rubbing her arms to get warmer.

"Yeah, but it doesn't feel right." Aqua agreed, surveying the room for any sign of a Heartless. "I don't like this. We've been in this world for a while now, and still no sign of an enemy."

Sora was thinking the same thing. After years of fighting the Heartless, he knows that they could literally appear from out of nowhere. "Everyone, keep on your guard." He said as he summoned his Keyblade and cautiously moved forward. The others followed his example.

Nervous anticipation pumped through their veins as they each went a different way, making the search go by a lot quicker. They looked under the bed and even in the treasure chest; they turn the room upside down and still no sign of what they were looking for. Well there was one place…

"The closet?" Kairi asked, pointing at the eerily dark closet.

"Yep. It's the only place we haven't looked in yet." Aqua explained.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Sora yelled right before running towards the closet door.

Suddenly, a shadow started shifting from behind Sora until the creature was right in front of him before it showed itself. It was a Novashadow Heartless that now blocked Sora's path. The act was so sudden that Sora stepped back a couple of steps in shock before the situation sunk in. Summoning the Keyblade, he struck diagonally across its chest to the neck, making it disappear in black smoke.

"Guys, I think we have company." Just as he said those words, hundreds of Neoshadows and Novashadows rose up in a circle around them. Keyblades appeared in flurries of light as the heroes got ready to defend themselves.

Aqua pointed _Stormfall _into the air and conjured up a **Magnega **spell. The magnetic orb attracted enemies into the air, causing them to circle the spot above Aqua's head. Being unable to move, it was easy for Aqua to dispatch of them with physical attacks and **Fire, Blizzard, **and **Thunder **spells. A moment later, her body was covered in a pink aura; her **Spellweaver** Command Style had just been activated. They were no match for a Master of the Keyblade.

Kairi took on 2 Neoshadows at once. Hacking at their black bodies, she lowered their health pretty quickly. Thinking she was doing well, she failed to notice a blob of darkness creeping up behind her until a Novashadow appeared. The shockwave it produced caused her to fly back and skid against the ground. Sitting up, she held her head as the room spun. Feeling blood on her forehead, fury took over. Using **Cure** she got rid of her injuries before standing up. Once up, she sent a wave of **Light **at the opposing players. The beings of Darkness couldn't stand the intensity of the light and were easily destroyed.

Riku was destroying Heartless left and right. Using his powers of Darkness, he used **Zero Gravity **and made the enemies hover in midair before jumping up in the air and striking them down. He shot an orb of Darkness at a Novashadow from his hand, causing the enemy to fly into the air. Jumping, he slashed downwards across its torso, landing in a crouched position as the Novashadow exploded in a black smoke.

"Riku, look out!" He heard Kairi scream as an orb of **Light **flew to the left of his head, missing it by mere inches. Turning around, he noticed a Neoshadow trying to sneak up on him.

"Thank you Kai—" Taking a look at Kairi, he noticed that a white aura was covering her body from head to toe. "Whoa, Kairi. Seems you managed to activate your very own Command Style." And it was true. She was now in her exclusive Command Style, **Heaven's Angel (1)**.

Noticing the warm feeling of Light hugging her body, she stared down at her body before smiling in triumph. "This is great!" She said before going back to the fight, all her moves followed up by **Light** magic. "Riku! Sora! You've gotta try this."

Thinking about the fact that Kairi's Command Style was **Light**-based, most likely for the fact that her heart was completely filled with it, Riku kept on his barrage of **Dark **attacks with some Neoshadows before he felt the room drop a couple of degrees all of a sudden. Surprisingly, the feeling wasn't unwanted and looking at his arms, he actually welcomed the feeling as he entered the **Dawn's Shadow **Style **(2)**. He dropped to the floor and became a shadow, like what the Neoshadows usually did. Using this power against them, he managed to sneak up behind one and struck its back before going back under.

"Guess it's my turn then." Sora said, staring down a bunch of Novashadows in front of him. They were blocking the entryway to the closet. Closing his eyes, he let his instincts take over. Striking _Oblivion_ into the ground, ice covered it as it went to the Heartless. Once under there clawed feet, giant icebergs rose and hit their bodies with their jagged points. Some were frozen in their spot while the others were automatically destroyed. Swinging his Keyblade in a wide arc, he sent a giant wave of **Fire** at the frozen fiends making the ice break and with it, their bodies before they disappeared into the Darkness. Sora turned around and went after a couple more Heartless with physical attacks.

Feeling a tingle go up his spine and a warmth surround his body, Sora saw that his body was surrounded by an orangey-tan color. Smirking, Sora tried running at a batch of enemies a couple of feet away. Surprisingly, he teleported right in front of the Heartless, disorienting them. Getting rid of his shock, he swung _Oblivion_ down over his head and completely cut a Novashadow with one attack. It seems that the **Twilight's Sun **Command Style not only increases speed, but also his strength.

**Spellweaver** had just reached its conclusion and Aqua was spinning around the room at super-fast speed. Some Heartless were caught in the twister she created with her **Finish** move. By now there were only about 30 more to deal with.

Kairi suddenly felt really bloated; like something was trying to escape from her body. Giving it the release it deserved, **Heaven's Angel **performed its **Finish** move. Her whole body became engulfed by light and she jumped high into the air. Once 40 feet in the air, she hovered in her spot for a second and yelled "Be enlightened by Light!" before jetting down to the ground. The impact caused shockwaves of **Light **to spread at 10 Heartless at once. 20 left…

Riku destroyed 5 more enemies before shadows engulfed his body. Diving into the ground, and becoming a living shadow once again, he hovered right below two bad guys. Grabbing each by their shoulders, he catapulted into the air and then jetting back at the ground screaming "Be lost in despair" as he went. He crashed their bodies on the wooden floor. Jumping at the other three, he made their hearts go to Kingdom Hearts. Last 10…

Sora backed away a couple of feet from the last of the Heartless and pointed the Keyblade above their heads. An orb **Light **surrounded them and they were incased in a tight ball, squishing them together. He said "May the balance give judgment." Above the sphere, hundreds of tiny arrows of **Darkness** appeared and shot themselves at the ball. They managed to pass through the membrane without damaging it. To finish it off, the sphere exploded outwards in a grayish color. No traces were left of the enemies.

The Keyblade Wielders regrouped at a couple of feet from the closet door.

"Good job guys." Aqua said in congratulations. "Now those were moves fit for a Keyblade Master."

"Thanks Aqua." Sora said. Turning to Riku and Kairi he gave them his goofy grin. "Man, did you guys see what we just did? It was totally awesome!"

"My Command Style was great; I literally jumped 40 feet in the air!" Kairi replied.

Riku just acted nonchalant about the whole thing and then tried to get everyone back on track. "Um, guys? Shouldn't we be looking for those rockets?" He reminded everybody. Getting back to business, everybody walked forward until they were right in front of the door.

They were about to open the door, when they heard yawning coming from the bed. Outside, they could see the signs of a new day. The sun had risen slightly and sunshine was coming in through the large window.

"Uh-oh. Guys, he's waking up." Kairi said, looking at the kid's rising form.

"Everyone, into the closet!" Aqua instructed them, navigating them into the smaller room. They hid inside just in time as Sid stretched his tired arms over his head before swinging his feet to the side of the bed. Standing, he made his way to the closet.

"Hide!" Aqua told them.

They did as they were told before he opened the door. Sora was behind a discarded shoe box, Riku hid in a dark corner, Kairi used a forgotten toy that had the body of a spider but the head of a baby doll.

"Sorry for hiding behind you, but desperate times call for desperate measures." Kairi whispered to the mismatched toy. It stayed predictably silent.

Aqua placed herself close to the wall at the left side. She too used the shadows to her hide her presence. Sid rifled through some clothes until he picked out a black t-shirt with a white skull in the middle. Walking away, he closed the door with his foot. The door closed with a click.

"What was that sound?" Kairi asked after coming out of her hiding place. Aqua was already at the door. Using her Doubleflight ability, she grabbed hold of the doorknob and turned. Problem was it didn't turn.

"What's going on?" Sora asked.

"Um, guys? We have a bit of a problem." Aqua answered.

"What is it now?" Riku spoke.

"The door's locked; we're trapped."

**JAM: There you go, this chapter is done. Again, sorry it's short but something is better than nothing, right?**

**KH staff: I guess…**

**JAM: Well, until next time. **

**(1) ****Heaven's Angel**: Kairi's exclusive Command Style. Activates after using **Light** attacks. She becomes as radiant as the sun and is surrounded by Light energy. The finishing move is where she jumps high into the air like a rocket, while surrounded by Light, and dives down on her enemies. Shockwave of Light surrounds her after the attack. Yells "Be enlightened by Light!"

**(2) ****Dawn's Shadow**: Riku's unique level 1 Command Style. Activates after using **Dark **attacks, turning him into a moving shadow. The finishing move is where he dives into the ground and jumps into the air once under the enemy, grabbing it as he goes into the air and makes it crash on the ground while Riku goes back under. Shockwave of Darkness surrounds him after the attack. Screams "Be lost in despair!" (Think of the Guardian's attack in BBS).

**(3) ****Twilight's Sun**: Sora's very own Command Style. Covered by an orangey-tan aura, his speed multiplies along with his strength. It activates by attacking with spells considered opposites of each other (like **Fire **and **Blizzard**) and physical moves. Finishes off by encasing the enemies in a ball of **Light **and then arrows of **Darkness **shoot at the enemies from the outside, passing through and lowering the enemies' HP. Finally, the sphere explodes outwards and nothing remains. Warns enemies by saying "May the balance give judgment."


	9. Investigating the Field

**Sora: Ha-ha-ha. *Holds something in his arms***

**Naminé: Sora, what are you doing? *Suspicious at Sora's behavior***

**Sora: Nothing… *Replies inconvincibly***

**Naminé: Sora… *Voice gets dangerously low***

**Sora: *Gulp* Ok, fine. Here. *Passes items onto Naminé hands.***

**The items appear to be shaving cream and a feather. **

**Naminé: What's all this stuff for?**

**Sora: Don't tell me you forgot. *At her confused stare, he explains* I guess you did. It's April Fools' Day. **

**Realization hit the blonde's features as she turned her head to a calendar at her right. Sure enough, it was April 1****st****, also known as April Fools' Day.**

**Naminé: So, who are you going to put the prank on?**

**Sora: Riku.**

**Naminé: *Eyes widen* You know that's not a good idea. He'll kill you if you try anything. **

**Sora: Yeah, I know, but if I don't do it, then who will?**

**Naminé: Well, how about…**

**Riku: Kairi!**

**Turning their heads to the door at the end of the room, Sora and Naminé manage to see a reddish blur coming their way before hiding behind a sofa. Almost immediately, Riku comes in, covered in flour from head to toe. **

**Riku: Where's Kairi? *Glares at Sora and Naminé***

**They both shrug in response and Riku leaves the room in his search for the red-head. **

**Sora: Come on out, Kairi. **

**The red-haired girl stands up from behind the sofa and smiles weakly at the other two in the room. **

**Naminé: Did you do that to Riku? *She says incredulously* **

**Kairi: *Giggles nervously* Yeah…**

**Sora: I just have one thing to say. *His face suddenly becomes brightens up and he lifts her up bridal-style.* That was awesome, Kairi. God, I love your mischievousness. *Kisses her on the lips***

**Naminé suddenly feels awkward at witnessing this act, rubbing her arm up and down. Man, where was Roxas? **

**Roxas suddenly appears and walks up to Naminé, offering her a beautiful white orchid. **

**Naminé: Oh, Roxas, it's beautiful. *Taking it from his hand, she puts it up to her nose and smells it. She is shocked when water sprays from the top onto her face***

**Roxas: *Laughing* April Fools'**

**Naminé's face starts to boil in anger at what her boyfriend had just done. Roxas, seeing her angered state, runs away for dear life.**

**Naminé: Get back here, you idiot! *Runs after him with her Keyblade in hand***

**JAM: Wow, I've only been gone a couple of minutes and the place is already in chaos. I think we've taken a lot of time away from the chapter, so everyone stop and somebody do the disclaimer. **

**Kairi: Fine. JAM doesn't own anything except for the plot. **

**JAM: Now here are some comments I couldn't answer from last chapter.**

**Flightfoot: Glad you liked it and the psychic link goes both ways, they just haven't tried it yet. **

**LOST-KH FANATIC: From what I've seen, a Keyblade can only unlock a door when a Keyhole is present on their side and this door has the Keyhole on the other side of it. Remember in Olympus Coliseum how when Sora used the Keyblade to unlock the gate that Cerberus was guarding there was a Keyhole at the top of the door. **

**To avoid spoilers for the chapter, I'll just let you read for yourself; the explanation is at the beginning. **

**JAM: On with the story. **

**Chapter 9: Investigating the Field**

"Um, Aqua? Why is the lock a problem? In case you forgot, we have magical weapons that can open any door." To explain what he meant, Sora twirled _Oathkeeper _in his right hand.

Aqua jumped down from the doorknob and made her way to the others. "Usually, yes. But—how to explain this—think of the Keyblade as a master key. It can open any lock it's inserted into or in this case, pointed at. The problem is that we can't use the Keyblade as the Keyhole is on the opposite side of the door." Aqua explained.

Understanding donned on the younger Wielders and then panic set in. Thinking of a solution, Kairi spoke up.

"But since we have our weapons, why can't we just slice through the door?" She brought up an interesting point, making Sora get ready to hack through the piece of wood. Those feelings of delight were shot down when Aqua shook her head.

"There are two things wrong with that. One: It's _huge_. And two: If we do that, we'll leave a whole in the door, alerting people of our presence. And as you know, we mustn't meddle in the affairs of other worlds." Riku and Kairi heard whistling coming from behind them and turned to see that it was Sora. At this, Riku and Kairi looked at each other before turning their heads to give Sora a smirk. This caused his cheeks to flush and make him start stuttering.

"A-Anyway, what are we going to do now?" Sora brought up an interesting point.

"There's not much we _can_ do. So, we might as well get comfortable." Riku said as he went and lay down on a brown shoebox that was precariously placed in the middle of the room.

"You can't be serious. We have to find a way out of here." Sora reprimanded Riku for lying down on the job.

"Sora's right. Besides, I thought he was the lazy one, not you Riku." Kairi teased. When she saw the blush on Sora's face, she giggled before heading to the door. Sora deadpanned and lowered his head at being called lazy, yet again by the Princess of Heart.

"Actually, I think Riku may have the right idea." At their questioning glances, she explained. "I mean, Mickey, Donald and Goofy know where we are and will come looking for us when they see that we've been gone too long. That way we won't cause any sort of incident." She went and sat cross-legged right in front of where Riku was.

Sighing, Sora finally gave in. "Alright, fine. But what'll we do until they come and get us?"

Kairi snapped her fingers as an idea popped into her head. "Hey, I've got an idea. Aqua, you said that you gave up your freedom to save Terra, right?" At Aqua's nod, she continued. "Then, how did you manage escape from the Realm of Darkness. I mean, you don't have to tell us if you don't want to." Kairi got the nerve to ask something that's been nagging at the back of her mind for a while but she was a bit nervous that it would cause Aqua some unease, so she kept it to herself until that very moment.

"No, it's fine. I'm surprised none of you have asked me this until now. Please, everyone gather around and get comfortable because this is going to be a long story." When she saw that everyone was sitting down and giving her their undivided attention, she began her story. "Ok, it all started when…"

**Flashback**

Aqua had just heard the name of the savior who would help out her and her friends.

"Thank you, um…" Aqua still didn't know the name of the man in the black cloak.

"Oh, terribly sorry. My name is Ansem." Ansem told her, still perched on the rock.

"Thank you, Ansem. So, how long have you…" Aqua began but was interrupted by a roar coming from the water. Summoning _Master Keeper_, her master's old Keyblade, she got ready for battle against whatever it was that made that noise.

A moment later a giant splash of water emanated from dark abyss of the ocean as a Heartless came out. It was a pure-blood, as no emblem was found on its body. It had an elongated neck that connected to a dragon-like head. Darkness was oozing from its mouth, sharp teeth being flaunted at its enemy. Its body was oval-shaped, colored dark-blue to hide itself in the water, with a large red stripe going across its back. Flippers were spread at its side, moving the monster closer to the shore. Its amber eyes stared at Aqua in hunger. **(1)**

"Sir, leave this guy to me. Go and hide somewhere safe." Aqua instructed Ansem, who didn't budge from his spot.

"No, that's alright. If you can't defeat him, then I will resign to my fate." Ansem said.

"But—" She didn't have time to impede his decision as the monster shot dark flames at her from its mouth. Thinking quickly, she raised her master's Keyblade into the air and shouted a spell.

"**Reflect"** She screamed and a large dome surrounded her and Ansem. The dome managed to protect them from the Heartless' attack.

Aqua brought down the dome and went on the offensive. Using **Blizzaga**, she froze enough water to create a bridge to the giant lizard. Once close enough, she used **Doubleflight** to jump high above the head. Using gravity as a force, she dove down and slashed the head of her enemy and managed to land on her feet on the ice she created. The attack earned her an angry roar in return.

Nessie brought down its head, jaw ready to crush her body into pancakes, but Aqua was ready for it. While its mouth was open wide, Aqua used **Triple Firaga **to send flames down Nessie's throat. The attack caught the Heartless off guard, but otherwise didn't hurt it as all it did was cough out smoke from its esophagus and into the sky.

Nessie seemed even angrier than before (if possible) and so set a constant stream of flames at Aqua's body, making her summon another shield. She was protected from the fire, but that didn't seem to be Nessie's plan. The ice around Aqua started melting thanks to the flames, causing Aqua's movements to become limited. She now stood on a small piece of ice, which was starting to melt. Aqua's eyes widened at her predicament while Nessie smirked.

Not giving the monster the satisfaction of her destruction, Aqua used **Doubleflight** yet again and cast a **Zero Graviga **spell on herself so she wouldn't fall back to the water. Who know what'll happen if she was subjected to Nessie's element.

Since the spell only gave her a limited time in the sky, Aqua had to stop playing around. Using various spells like using **Thunder **to stun the head, **Blizzara **to freeze its jaw shut, and **Fira** to scorch its face, Aqua entered her unique Command Style, **Spellweaver**.

Bashing the head a few times and shootng beams of **Light**, the Command Style came to its finisher. Twirling like a ballerina, Aqua created a swirling Vortex that lowered the Monster's HP significantly. Ending the move, she struck the side of its neck.

**Zero Graviga** was beginning to die down as she plummeted to the icy waters below. She only had enough mana for one last spell. Pointing _Master Keeper_ at the water below, she harnessed the power of electricity and used **Thundaga Shot**. The move had its desired effect as the water became electrically charged, causing Nessie to cry out in agony and lower its head onto the shore.

Aqua pierced Nessie's back with her Keyblade right before her legs touched the water. Using the Keyblade as leverage, she jumped onto the Heartless' back and ran onto the shore.

Right before Nessie could lift its head up, Aqua jumped into the air and dove down with her Keyblade in outstretched in front of her. With all her strength, Aqua sliced through the neck as if it was made of butter and cut it clean off Nessie's body.

Landing crouched in the sand, she looked over her shoulder to see that the body was disappearing into wisps of Dark smoke, but the head didn't. The head was covered in tendrils of Darkness and transformed into a Corridor of Darkness on the ground where the head once was.

"What is that?" Ansem asked from his cozy spot on the rock.

"It's our way out of this place." Aqua said, confidently. Taking out her charm, she placed it on her chest while closing her eyes. "Terra, Ven, I promise I'll find you guys and save you from your fates. And this time, I'll have some help from Sora."

Turning her body to Ansem, she motioned for him to come with her. He shook his head as if to deny such a thing was happening.

"I can't go back. I can't face everyone's whose life I managed to ruin." He wallowed in a lake of self-pity.

Aqua was having none of this and so pulled on the depressed old man's shoulder. "Don't think that way. Everyone deserves a second chance for the mistakes they've done in their lives. Besides, wouldn't you want to atone for the sins you've done?" Aqua tried convincing him to go with her; no one deserved to stay in a place as dark as this one.

Lifting his head to stare into her eyes, he smiled in gratitude. "Alright, I'll go with you. Lead the way."

She smiled back at him in return and helped him cross the beach until they were at the Corridor. Stepping onto it, a swirling vortex surrounded their bodies and transported them away from the dark beach towards a different destination. The last thing she saw before she left the world behind was the moon slipping past the horizon and the world covered in a blanket of Darkness.

A split second after she stepped on the Corridor of Darkness, she was met with a large tower on an island being surrounded by an orange body of water.

**End Flashback**

"After finding ourselves outside the Mysterious Tower, Master Yen Sid found us and took us in. He later contacted King Mickey and on his way to meet up with you guys, dropped Ansem off at his own world in Radiant Garden."

"Wow, that's one interesting story." Sora admitted, quite a big shock at what he just heard.

"Yeah. I mean, how did that…?" Kairi started asking before Riku shushed her.

"Everyone quiet down." They did what they were told and stood completely still in their spots. "Do you guys hear that?" Putting their right hands to their ears, they searched for whatever noise Riku was speaking about. Sure enough, there was a ruckus coming from the opposite side of the door.

"This is all your fault." They heard one say, his voice sounding oddly familiar.

"How is this my fault? You're the one who pushed me out that window." Another one said. His voice was also familiar to the occupants of the closet.

"I've told you already, it was an accident. I just wanted to run you over." Now they knew who it was, Woody was the one speaking.

"Like that's any better." And that one was Buzz.

"Hey, I didn't know that window was open." Woody tried to explain his actions.

"By the way, how did it get open?" Sora and Kairi cringed at how badly their exit turned out for the other toys.

"Does that really matter right now? We're trapped in the room of a toy killer. We're as good as dead. Or worse, we'll end up like one of the other toys; our parts mismatched onto bodies of other toys." Woody was acting the same way he always did, pessimistic.

"Can't those two ever get along?" Sora asked, a little too loudly.

"Did you hear something?" Buzz asked. Sora's eyes widened at being heard and he covered up his mouth with his hands.

"Yeah, I was crying over our futures." Woody said, obliviously.

"Not that. It's coming from that closet over there." Buzz told him, pointing his laser at the wooden door. "Stay close." Buzz instructed his companion, tip-toeing towards the closet door.

When they were right in front of the door, Buzz pressed his back against the door. Woody rolled his eyes at his comrade's actions. Though Buzz wanted to sneak up on whoever was making the noise, Woody had other ideas.

"Hello, anyone there?" Woody screamed, using his hands to amplify his volume. Buzz glared at his companion for ruining their cover.

"Guys? It's us! Can you please unlock the door for us?" Kairi screamed to the bickering toys.

"Kairi? What are you doing in there?" Woody asked, surprised that they she was trapped in the closet of such a raving lunatic child.

"What do you think you're doing? Whatever's in there could be extremely dangerous. It's probably one of Zurg's henchmen in there." Buzz said.

"Could you just stop, for one moment, and help me get them out of there?" Woody exclaimed, already going to a small, blue crate near the desk and trying to push it to the door. Sadly, it was too heavy for one toy to push.

"Fine, but don't blame me if your face is eaten off." Buzz complied and helped Woody push the crate until it was right in front of the door. Climbing on top of it, Woody soon found out that he wasn't tall enough to reach the knob.

"Hey, Buzz, do you think you could give me a lift?" Woody asked, looking slightly embarrassed at the notion of asking his mortal enemy for help.

Buzz stepped onto the platform and bent over so Woody could hoist himself over his body and onto his shoulders. Once secured, Buzz stood up and held onto Woody by his legs. Woody stretched his scrawny arms high, trying to reach the knob. After a few failed attempts, he grabbed onto it and tried moving the handle, only to see it locked. Tilting his head up, he saw the locking system. It was a switch designed to lock it from the outside. **(2)**

"Hey Buzz, can you lift me up a bit higher?" Woody was moving his feet so much that he managed to separate his right one from Buzz's hold and stepped on the spaceman's helmet. He did the same with the other foot, giving him a bigger boost and letting him reach the switch. This act made Buzz get even angrier at the cowboy, almost to the point where he would just push him off. Luckily, Buzz managed to control himself. At least for the moment; he would kill him later on.

"Did you get it, yet?" Buzz ground his teeth together to calm himself down but was still heard.

"Almost. _Almost_." Woody finally turned the switch to the left so it was facing the horizontal direction instead of the vertical it was in moments ago. "There. Ok, now to open the do—" Woody used so much force to turn the lock, that he lost his balance on the helmet and slipped off. Buzz tried to grab a hold of Woody but instead fell over the crate after him. They both hit the ground with a thud.

"Good work, sheriff." Buzz reprimanded him for being so clumsy.

"It's not my fault your helmet is so slippery." Woody told him right back.

"Guys! Quit your yammering!" Aqua finally had enough of their disputes over silly little things. "Did you manage to unlock the door?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's unlocked." Woody told her.

"Well then, stand back because I'm about to open the door." Using **Doubleflight**, Aqua jumped high into the air and landed on the doorknob. Twisting it easily, the door opened enough for her and her friends to escape.

"Man, I'm glad that's over. I haven't eaten in hours." Sora complained and his stomach seemed to agree with his hunger since it started rumbling.

"We'll get something to eat when we get out of here." Kairi told him, hands at her hips.

"But we just can't fly out of here; Woody and Buzz will see us." Riku, ever the wiser, explained their predicament.

"Oh man, I hate protocol." Sora complained at having to find a longer route back to the house next door.

Just then everyone heard heavy thumping coming from the hallway outside. At the noise, everyone went and found a place to hide. Except for Woody and Buzz who had to return to where Sid left them.

"Yes! It's finally here." Sid screamed in glee. In his hands was a cardboard box that had a postage stamp on it. The address was hard to make out on the parcel, but that didn't matter.

"Time to open this puppy up." He was about to rip the box open but found that it was bound too tight for his scrawny arms to destroy. Frustrated, he muttered a plan under his breath. "Now, where did I put those scissors?" Sid left the room in search of the scissors he was looking for. What he forgot was to close the door, leaving it open for an escape attempt.

"This is perfect! Alright, everyone, this way!" Woody exclaimed as he started running out the door. The others followed after him, easily catching up.

As they made their way to the stairs, Buzz heard something peculiar coming from a nearby room. Running to the noise, he found his way into a pink bedroom. On the nightstand was a pink television that was running a commercial on space toys. More specifically, Buzz Lightyear toys. Each one was being held by a child's hand and all its functions were fake.

Looking down at himself, he could tell that he was just like the rest of those toys; a Buzz Lightyear faker. To test his theory out, Buzz went on top of the stair's railing and activated his wings. Staring ahead at a window, he chose his destination. Lifting his arms to the sides, he jumped over the ledge.

For a second, he was suspended in midair and he thought he was going to make it. But, that second ended too quickly and he fell down towards the cold, mahogany ground. The fall was so strong that his left arm fell out of its socket. He created a thud and Sid's little sister, Hannah, heard it. Looking down, she grabbed him and made her way to her room.

Sora and company saw everything that happened and picked up the forgotten arm before rushing back upstairs, after their friend. Woody was hard to convince, but in the end he knew he couldn't go back without the big lug.

Once they made it passed the stairs, which took a while in their diminutive size, they were greeted by Scud, the dog. He was standing guard outside Hannah's door. Thinking fast, Aqua used a **Sleep **spell on the mutt and he fell asleep instantly.

"Wow, how'd you do that?" Woody asked her suspiciously.

"What are you talking about? I didn't do anything." Aqua tried playing the dumb routine, which sort of worked as it made Woody shut up. He probably thought the dog fell asleep on its own. Oh silly toy…

Moving delicately around Scud, they opened the door quietly. Once they entered they found out what Hannah had planned for Buzz. It caused everyone in the group to crack up in laughter at the space toy's predicament.

"More tea, Mrs. Nesbit?" Hannah asked the newly dressed Buzz. He was wearing a pink apron and a blue hat with a white flower on his head. He was placed on a small chair around a wooden table. On either side of him were two dolls whose heads were ripped off and Hannah sat in front of him. She refilled his cup with imaginary tea.

"I better go get the cookies. I'll be right back Ms. Nesbit. Don't go anywhere." Hannah stood up from her chair and left the room in search of her cookies.

When she was gone, Sora and company left their hiding spots under the frilly pink bed. Still snickering, they walked over to the tea party.

"Hey, Buzz, are you okay?" Woody asked.

Buzz's head sprang up really fast before he answered. "Oh! It's gone. Bye-bye. Woo! See ya." He sounded a bit disoriented, almost as if he was drunk.

"What happened to you?" Sora asked the girly dressed action figure.

"You're defending the whole galaxy, and suddenly, and you find yourself sucking dark jelly. You know what I mean?" He motioned the tea cup at the blue dressed (headless) doll to his left. He calls her Marie Antoinette and the other one her little sister.

"I think you've had enough tea for today." Aqua said, taking the cup from his right hand.

"Yeah, let's get you out of here." Woody said, lifting him off the seat.

Buzz pulled his arm from Woody's grip in slight anger. "Don't you get it? You see the hat?" He pointed at the blue hat on his head, "I am Mrs. Nesbit. HAHAHAHA!" Buzz finished his sentence with crazy laughter.

"Snap out of it, Buzz!" Woody told him before grabbing the dismembered arm Sora was carrying. He pressed the button on the side of Buzz's helmet to open it up before hitting him on the face with the arm. Then he closed the helmet back.

That seemed to snap him out of it as he stood up straighter and grabbed his arm from Woody. "I'm sorry. You're right. I'm just a little sensible right now." He walked out the open door, everyone else following after him.

"I can get through this." Buzz said. Suddenly, he dropped to the ground and broke down crying. "Ah! I'm a sham. Look at me; I can't even fly out a window." He used his limp arm to point at the open window in front of them.

Buzz's comment sparked a plan in Woody's head. "Out the window. Buzz, you're a genius!" Grabbing a cord of Christmas lights, Woody grabbed a hold of Buzz's right arm and pulled him along to Sid's room.

"Years of academy training, wasted!" Buzz said as he was dragged away.

"Well, that was unexpected." Sora said, sweat dropping along with his friends at what had just happened.

"I think we should follow them to see what Woody has in store." Aqua said, going after the two toys.

Woody was already at the window, lifting it to open it up. He screamed at everyone in Andy's room to listen to him.

"Hey everyone! Over here!" Woody said, trying to get their attention.

"Well, what do you know? It's Woody." Mr. Potato Head said in shock.

"Hey everyone, it's Woody!" Hamm said, surprising everyone.

"Woody?" Bo asked in joy that her boyfriend was still alive after his disappearance.

"Hey, Buzz, I've found our way out of here!" Woody exclaimed, only to see Buzz being all crazy on the ground of Sid's room. He was pretending his dislocated arm was an airplane and he even made airplane noises as he moved it around.

Turning his attention away from Buzz, he went back to getting his plan of escape to work. The rest of Andy's toys were trying to get his attention and show how happy they were to see that Woody was alright, but slightly confused as to how he got there.

"I'll tell you guys later," He said. "Right now, I need you guys to tie this rope over there." Woody through the Christmas lights over to Slinky's awaiting mouth only for Mr. Potato Head to grab it as if it was a hostage.

"Wait, are we sure we want him back over here after what he did to Buzz?" Mr. Potato Head asked the group.

Everyone was shocked at the Spud's words, but being reminded of what he did to Buzz, they second guessed their decision. Luckily, Woody had a way out of this predicament.

"But wait, guys. Buzz is right here with me." Woody told them.

"Well then where is he?" Mr. Potato Head challenged Woody's claim. Woody turned around so Buzz could see his face.

"Buzz, quit playing around and give me a hand over here." Woody chastised. Buzz threw his arm at Woody.

"Haha, very funny." Woody said, sarcastically. Out the window, his friends were calling for him to show them Buzz.

Thinking fast, Woody placed the arm around his shoulder, making it look like Buzz was giving him a one-armed hug. Well, at least to the next door neighbors.

"You see, Buzz and I are great friends now." To exaggerate the claim even more, he moved the arm up and down to make it seem like Buzz was ruffling Woody's head.

"See, Woody was telling the truth. Now, give Slinky the cord back." Bo reprimanded Mr. Potato Head for not believing Woody's words. He still wasn't having it, though.

"He's bluffing." The spud said.

"No I'm not." Woody moved a wee bit too far to the middle of the window and his charade was over. Andy's toys gasped at the sight of Buzz's dismembered arm. The sight was so horrendous to Rex that he almost puked there and then.

"You're sick! You're a sick toy!" Mr. Potato Head said and then threw the line out their window, causing it to fall limp down the side of Sid's house.

"No, no! Come back! Please, come back!" When everyone walked away, there was only one toy left on the window's view. "Slink, please don't leave." Slink looked close to crying and shook his head as he closed the shade behind him. "Come back!" Woody started crying at being left behind at Sid's house.

When Woody went to scream at Buzz for not helping him out, Sora and Aqua walked over to the window and called Donald and Goofy to speak with them. A moment later, the Disney Crew opened the shade for the others to see them.

"Sora, Aqua, you're alright." Goofy said happily.

"It's about time you guys came to us." Donald said, impatient as ever.

"Sorry, guys. We were met with some unforeseen circumstances." Sora rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. If he told them the details of their adventure, he would never hear the end of it from his friends.

"Anyway, when are you guys getting back?" Donald asked.

"That's the thing guys; we can't go back until we help Woody and Buzz with their return. That and the fact we may have found what we've been looking for." Aqua explained how the parcel Sid got minutes ago had a picture of a rocket on the side.

"Fine, but you guys better hurry; the move is tomorrow morning, ahyuk." Goofy was worried that they wouldn't be able to finish their mission before everyone left the house to a mysterious place.

"Don't worry guys. We'll be done with plenty of time to spare." Sora, always the enthusiastic person he was, said.

"You better. Or else we'll go over there and pull you by the ears, if we have to." Donald joked.

Before they could say anything else, thumping came from outside the door. Someone was climbing the staircase and was now walking down the hallway and to Sid's room. To avoid detection, Aqua used an invisibility spell on both her and Sora. Riku and Kairi hid under the desk.

"Finally, it's time for me to use this bad boy." Sid said as he opened the box and pulled out a blue rocket with a red top.

Reading the side of the rocket, he found a warning of how it could fly high into the air and cause a giant explosion. He was amazed at the fact, even resulting to call it cool.

"Now, where is that wimpy cowboy?" Sid asked. Woody, the toy in question, was hiding underneath the blue crate from before. Sid saw the crate and went over to stand in front of it. In silent anticipation, Sid lifted the blue object from the ground, hoping to see Woody there. Surprisingly, he wasn't.

Raising it high into the air, the audience could see what became of Woody. He placed himself at the top of the crate, arms and legs outstretched so he wouldn't fall down.

Being unable to find Woody seemed to anger the young boy and also irritating him in the process. Walking around to look for the cowboy, he accidently stepped on Buzz's right left arm, which had now been put back into place. The action caused Buzz's programmed voice to ring around the room.

Looking down at the space toy, Sid smiled evilly at having a toy to use his rocket on. Grabbing the limp body, Sid used his other hand to place the rocket where Buzz's wings would go. He grabbed a roll of duct tape and bound the rocket on his back.

"Houston, this is Buzz Lightyear, ready to blast off." Sid simulated a rocket's deploy into space with Buzz as the astronaut who was going to fly it into the great cosmos.

A boom of thunder rang from outside, showing everyone that it was raining, and hard by the sound of it.

"Oh, man. I can't launch the rocket in this weather." Sid said, disappointed. That is, he was until he shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't care. "Guess, I'll have to postpone it until tomorrow." Placing the rocket, and Buzz, on the desk's surface, Sid grabbed a blue alarm clock. Instead of a little hammer like most clocks, this clock used a toy's arm to ring the bell. After

"Tomorrow morning, this thing is going to fly to the heavens and then destroy another toy." Sid laughed evilly before going to sleep. Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day.

**JAM: Sorry this isn't what happened in the movie, but I don't have it with me at the time and can't find it anywhere. The only version I could find was in Japanese, which I'm not fluent in. This is from what I can remember at the moment. Also, I know it seems kind of rushed and I apologize. **

**Sora: When will we leave this world?**

**JAM: Next chapter for sure. I promise. **

**(1) Based on the Loch Ness Monster from Scottish legend. It is called the Nessie Heartless. **

**(2) I had a closet like this when I was little. My friends and I always used to play Cops and Robbers and used the closet as a cell. Since I wasn't the fastest runner, I was locked in there for a while until the other robbers were caught. **


	10. Escape

**This week's Author's Note takes place in a forest full of tall oak trees. Sunlight came in through the leaves of the trees, allowing people to see where they were going.. Kairi and Roxas were walking around the meadow, looking for their significant other. **

"**Hey, where are Sora and Naminé?" Kairi asked, peaking over yet another oak tree. **

"**I don't know." Roxas shrugs "Hey, JAM, do you know where they are?" He asks the author. **

**JAM looks up into the sky, thoughfully before answering. "Oh! They went to make out behind that tree over there." JAM smirks at their reaction of repulsion and anger. **

"**WHAT?" They say simultaneously. Anger fills their veins as they stomp over to where Sora and Naminé were. When they made it to the tree, they almost ripped the bark out of the tree. **

**Tulips and Lilies surrounded the meadow where they were in. Sunlight shone even brighter here than anywhere else in the forest, making it seem like the picture of beauty. Sora was lying down on the biggest tree in the vicinity while Naminé was sitting across from him, sketchpad open and a green crayon in her right hand. They looked so tranquil here. But, this tranquility was broken when Roxas broke a branch with his feet. They turned to see the source of the noise. **

"**Hey, you guys are here early." Sora rubbed the back of his neck to get the kinks out of it. **

"**What are you guys doing here?" Roxas asked, staring at them suspiciously.**

"**Uh, no specific reason." Sora said, hesitantly. **

"**Hm, why do I feel like I don't believe you?" Kairi was staring at them so intently that it caused Sora to look away. **

"**I don't know." **

"**Hey Naminé, why aren't you answering?" Roxas asked.**

**Though he didn't see anything bad happening between them, he's still a bit wary about everything. He saw her shuffle her body a bit, as if she was trying to hide something.**

"**What do you have there?" Kairi also noticed her Nobody's movements. **

"**Nothing!" Naminé replied, a little too quickly. **

"**Then turn around." Roxas instructed. Slowly, she turned around without showing the object she was holding. Right now it was situated behind her back. **

**Roxas marched up to the blond girl and tried to take hold of the object by grabbing it from the side. She was stubborn, however, and so he had the pull hard on the object until it wrenched free of her grasp. The force of the tug caused both of them to fall backwards onto the grass. **

"**Got it!" Roxas exclaimed excitedly while standing up. His excitement disappeared when he saw tears form under the blonde's eyes and her grab a hold of her arm. She had landed painfully hard on her left arm and it felt like it was broken. Sora was crouched right next to her, trying to use magic to cure the wound. **

"**Hey, what'd you do that for!" Sora stormed up to Roxas until he they were face-to-face with one another. The look of pure anger Sora gave him made Roxas flinch. He felt guilty for what he did to Naminé in his fury and lowered his gaze to his feet. **

**Kairi tried to calm her boyfriend down, but it was futile. The only way for him to do so, he needs Roxas to right his wrong. **

"**Apologize to her." Sora said, voice dangerously low. **

**Lifting his gaze he turned to see Naminé, who was standing with her eyes staring at the ground. Roxas walked over to his girlfriend and wrapped her in a hug. **

"**I'm sorry." He said and the total sincerity in his tone caused Sora to control his anger and Naminé to wrap her arms around him as well. Handing the basket he snatched from Naminé grip, he stepped back a bit. **

"**But I would like to know; what is in that basket?" He couldn't tell because a picnic blanket covered the contents from view. **

**Naminé smiled at him before removing the yellow blanket off the basket. Inside of the basket were colorful plastic eggs, each one containing assorted pieces of candy. **

"**We thought we would celebrate Easter by having an egg hunt. But you had to ruin the surprise." She pouted at the surprise being ruined. "Why did you guys come over so early? And why were you so angry?" Now it was Sora and Naminé's turn to be suspicious of them. **

**The revelation that Sora and Naminé weren't doing anything obscene caused Kairi and Roxas to blush in embarrassment and to stutter out excuses. **

"**We thought you guys were…" Kairi didn't dare finish that sentence. **

"**What'd you think we were doing?" Sora raised his eyebrow in confusion. **

"**It's not our fault; JAM told us you guys were making out." Kairi said in a rush. **

**This caused Sora and Naminé to stare at each other before bursting out laughing. **

"**And you guys believed him?" Sora asked. **

**Kairi's face seemed to fluster even more, if that's possible. **

"**Well, yeah."**

"**Hey, where is JAM anyway?" Naminé asked, looking around for the author. **

"**Here I am!" JAM screamed from right behind Sora and Naminé, causing them to jump in surprise and then turned around to glare at him. **

"**Don't do that!" They say simultaneously. **

"**Whoops, sorry." He didn't seem all that sorry as he sported a large grin. "So, how are the lovebirds?" **

"**What was the big idea of tricking us?" Roxas asked angrily. **

**JAM shrugs his shoulders at the couples. "I got bored." He managed to dodge a shard of ice heading his way by ducking. "I'm sorry. I promise not to do that again." He said as he stood up. **

**The others stared at him for a moment before they gave a great big sigh and nodded their acceptance. **

"**Ok, so who wants to do the disclaimer?" JAM asks.**

"**I guess I'll do it." Riku says as he walks out from behind a tree. Everyone's shocked to see him appear almost out of nowhere.**

"**How long have you been standing there?" Kairi asked nervously.**

"**The whole time." He smirks causing her to face palm herself.**

"**Yeah, yeah. Can we get on with it. The audience is waiting." Roxas said.**

"**Right. Ok, JAM doesn't own anything except for the plot of the story." Riku said.**

"**Let's get on with the show." JAM presses a button and a movie projector and screen appears out of nowhere. On the screen, the following words appear:**

**Chapter 10:**

Once Sid had succumbed fully to the realm of asleep, Woody jumped down onto the table, still inside the crate. He was starting to lose it when he saw the rocket strapped to Buzz's back.

"Oh man, we've got to get out here." Woody said in distress, trying to push the crate off his body. Sadly, the object had become too heavy since the last time he had moved it; on top of the blue crate, a toolbox was exerting pressure on his prison.

"Uh-oh. Hey, can someone please help me out of here?" Woody screamed for help.

Aqua's spell had worn out by now, materializing their bodies back to the environment. Sora and Aqua made their way to the distressed toy and tried pushing the toolbox from atop the crate. Yet again, the toolbox proved to be too heavy for their miniature sizes.

"Push harder!" Woody exclaimed, pushing the crate from the inside.

"We're trying!" Sora yelled back at the agitated cowboy. Again, pushing didn't do much.

"This is hopeless. Sora, get behind me." Aqua's patience had finally reached its peak after all the time consuming things they've had to go through.

Sora did as he was told. Backing away a bit, he gave Aqua some space for her to do whatever it was she had planned. Once he was far enough away, Aqua summoned her Keyblade and held it out in front of her.

"Aqua, what about the rules?" Sora was slightly confused as to why Aqua was going to break her own instructions of being careful around civilians.

"Honestly, I just want to get out of here already." She knew that what she was doing was going against what her master had told her all those years ago. But, really, how different could this be compared to what she did during her first world hopping?

"I know how you're feeling; I've gone through the same thing. I remember when a friend of mine, a Princess of Heart named Alice, was in danger because of an unfair queen and I ignored Donald and Goofy's warnings about the whole 'keeping the other worlds a secret' thing. But, in the end, it all turned out ok." Sora sympathized with her.

"Thanks Sora, I needed that." Lifting _Stormfall_ into the air, she mumbled the words to the **Zero Gravity **spell. Instantly, the tip of the Keyblade became purple and a force expelled onto the toolbox, causing the object to lift high into the air; just high enough for Woody to be able to move the crate now. To the cowboys chagrin, the change in weight came so suddenly that he accidently pushed too hard on the object and fell over the edge of the bed, crate and all.

"You could've warned me." Woody complained, rubbing the top of his head in discomfort. Sora looked over the edge and shrugged his shoulders as if apologizing for the pain it caused his friend.

"Ok, Aqua, you can put the box down." Sora told his blue-haired companion. Seeing the toolbox still wobble high in the air, and not being dropped onto the table, Sora turned his head to see what the problem was. Sweat poured over Aqua's face and strain was clearly shown because of her facial features; eyes scrunched up, lower lip quivering as she tried holding the thing in the air.

Sora was faced with a predicament of his own; he had no idea what he could do to help her out. The only spell that used force was **Gravity** and that would most likely do more bad than good in this situation. If he tried destroying the offending item, he could risk causing harm on Aqua. So, there was only one thing he could do.

"Look out below!" Sora yelled over the edge of the table. Kairi and Riku were trying to help Woody get his balance back. Looking up, they quickly caught on to what was going on. Running off to the sides, they gave the brunet a thumbs up.

"Ok, Aqua. You can let go." Sora tried coaxing her into dropping the spell before she would faint from the pressure.

"Wait, what?" Woody looked high into the air to see the toolbox was hanging right above him, a dark shadow right over his head. He tried getting out of the way before he was crushed by the giant object.

It was already too late as Aqua finally let the spell, and the box, drop. The force of gravity caused the object to fall down almost instantly onto the ground, right above Woody's running body. The thing barely missed him as he dived out of the way in time. A heavy boom filled the room as the tools collided inside the confines of the box.

"I'm okay!" Woody was excited to see that he ran away from the experience unharmed. He spoke too soon as the lid dropped down onto his body, crushing all except for his arm which was dangling outwards. The force of the impact wasn't as rough as the whole thing would've been if he didn't move out of the way in time.

"I'm still okay!" Woody reassured the others, albeit sounding mumbled underneath the metal lid. The others ran toward the cowboy and lifted the object off of his body. Once done, Woody stood up on wobbly legs that almost caused him to fall over them.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Aqua asked, concerned. She was guilty over the fact that she couldn't hold the toolbox. So much for her intensive training.

Shaking away the headache, Woody straightened up before he answered. "Yep, I'm A-Okay. Luckily I'm made of durable material."

Sora and Riku exchanged a glance while Kairi looked like she was about to be sick at the cowboy's condition. Woody had no idea what caused them to look so worried. That is, until Kairi pointed at his right arm. Looking at his arm, he saw what the problem was.

"Oh, this? This is nothing." His right arm was bent at an awkward angle. The arm itself was twisted around and was facing backwards while the shoulder was placed a bit higher than its socket.

"How can it be nothing?" Riku asked with his right eyebrow lifted in disbelief.

"That's because I can do _this_." Using his left hand, Woody pushed down his right shoulder onto its socket and kept applying pressure until it snapped back into place. Then he grabbed ahold of his arm and twisted it around until it was facing the right way. Not once did he show the slightest bit of discomfort or pain.

"See? I didn't feel a thing." Woody said.

"…" Everyone's expressions were wide-eyed as they've never seen anyone do something like that before. Well, they've never seen a living toy before, either. So, after composing themselves, they went over to see how Buzz was holding up.

"Come on, Buzz. Let's get on out of here." Woody tried coaxing Buzz out of his depression and to get him to leave.

"Just leave me to wallow in peace. I mean, isn't the point of a toy to make the child happy?" Buzz sighed.

"Not if that child wants to blow you up." Woody retorted. "Just because you're a toy doesn't mean you don't have any feelings. Besides, there's a kid next door who's really sad that his favorite toy isn't there."

Woody lowered his eyes so they were hidden by his hat. "I admit I was jealous with the fact that Andy's found another toy to treasure more than me, but…"

He shook his head. "Who am I kidding? I deserve to be strapped to that rocket more than you. I'm the one who caused this whole mess."

Buzz stared at the guilty cowboy before he jumped off the table, making a thump noise as he hit the floor feet first. Walking up to Woody, Buzz raised his newly fixed arm high in the air. It looked like he was about to hit him when he did the unthinkable. Buzz went to stand right next to Woody and patted his back a bit roughly.

"Cheer up, sheriff. I can understand how it must've felt when someone new comes in and steals the affection of your best friend. And…" Buzz now placed his arm around the sheriff's neck in a friendly gesture. "I forgive you."

Sora was glad that his friends had finally gotten passed their differences after everything.

"Well, now that that's done and over with, we should really get out of here." Buzz said.

"Yeah, let's go." Sora pumped his hand in the air.

"Um, sorry to interrupt, but there's a slight problem." Aqua spoke up, grabbing everyone's confused glances. "If we just leave, he'll grow suspicious as to how a toy was there one night and gone the next morning." She made a good point. Toys don't usually stand up and leave.

"So, what do we do, then? We can't let Buzz be blasted to pieces." Kairi was worried about how little time they had left. According to the clock, they only had a few hours left until the launch.

"Hm…" Woody placed his right hand below his chin, getting into a thinking pose. Everyone waited for him to say something. A while later, his face brightened and he snapped his fingers as an idea popped into his head. The motion caused everyone to anxiously stare at him.

"I got it." Woody whispered to those assembled. Before he said anything else, Woody put his thumb and index finger and blew. A loud whistling sound rang across the bedroom. Other than that, everything was quiet. A little too quiet…

"Uh, Woody?" Kairi was confused as to why Woody just did that, but she didn't continue as the latter quickly shushed her.

For a while, no one moved. The environment grew darker as time passed and the air was slightly tense. Aqua was unnerved at how quiet things were, being alert for anything. Finally, to their right, a pair of golden eyes protruded through the darkness. Then the pairs grew until there were too many to count.

The warriors took no time to summon their respective weapons and point them at the hidden beings. They were about to attack when Woody stood in front of them, arms held in a desperate manner.

"Hold your fire!" This earned some confused glances from the rest, Keyblades still held in front of them just in case. Seeing their faces, he elaborated. "It's okay; they're friendly."

As soon as he said this, a toy that had mechanical legs lain out like to resemble spider legs and a baby's head placed on top. It was the same toy that Kairi used to hide behind during her time in the closet. Another was a toy that had the torso of a muscle dude but the head of a duck and instead of legs, a spring allowed him movement. Female legs with a fishing line on the end ran ahead of the others, almost crashing into Woody as she stood a little ways behind him.

Hesitantly, the heroes dispersed their weapons and relaxed their stances to more casual ones. When Woody saw they were comfortable, he continued.

"These guys managed to repair Buzz's dismembered arm before. And now, I think they could help us out of this jam"

"What do you have in mind?" Riku asked curiously.

"Ok, so here's how it's going to be…" Everyone huddled up as Woody explained his plan, and for the rest of the evening, they prepared to put it in motion.

As the sun rose to signify a new day, they knew that this was going to be one to remember.

**/**

_Ring! Ring!_ The sound of an alarm clock covered the room as Buzz returned to his spot from the previous night while everyone else hid themselves from Sid's view.

Once Sid had risen and stretched, he grabbed a hold of Buzz's still form and ran outside like the crazy child he was, closing the door as he left. When he was out of ear shot, Sora and the rest came out of their hiding spots. Time to put 'Operation: Escape' into action.

The jumping duck and the hook with legs walked over to a ventilation shaft to the left of the bed. Together, they unhooked the side panel, and ran inside the tight air space. While this was going on, the rest of the toys ran towards the door. Some climbed on top of each other until they managed to reach the bedroom door's handle. At the edge of the door, a car with plastic legs instead of wheels was winding a toy frog up, holding it steady so it wouldn't go flying too early.

Woody situated himself onto an army toy with a skateboard's body; one large enough to hold him and others on its back. Sora and company decided that since it was already too late to stay inconspicuous, they summoned their Keyblade Gliders and got themselves ready to bolt as soon as the door opened up.

From beyond the wooden barrier, they could hear Scud clawing on the door's surface, desperate to get inside. Suddenly, a loud ringing sound echoed from downstairs, signaling for the next step of their plan to commence. After a couple of seconds, Woody outstretched his mark to give the command everyone was waiting for.

"Go!" He screamed and at that moment the door swung open and the yellow car let go of the frog. It zipped past the barking dog, causing the white creature to run right after it. When the dog was halfway down the staircase, the others followed after.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, they caught a glimpse of Hannah being tripped from behind by Scud in the chase, before the group veered left towards the kitchen.

"Get ready!" Woody instructed as they made their way under the kitchen table and towards the door that surely led to the backyard, which was closed at the moment. Luckily, a flimsy doggy door gave them the opportunity to make it out of there.

Everyone on the skateboard leaned back to make it easier to get through the doggy door. The rest held themselves back a bit and followed at a safe distance so they could all fit through; they were following in a straight line.

The backyard was mostly a barren place; the ground was deprived of plants, making the landscape look all brown and dead. A table was flipped onto its side a little farther away. Sid was standing near a shed to the right and in front of a trash can. On the lid stood Buzz, standing on a small platform, with the rocket still strapped onto his back. Though he had a smile on his unmoving face, Sora could see slight fear in his painted eyes.

When Sid turned away from the homemade rocket platform, Buzz dropped his stance and moved his body to stare at Woody, who now stood a couple of feet from the forgotten table. Buzz smiled at having such loyal friends, until his face contorted in shock.

"Woody, watch out!" Buzz whispered as loud as he dared to and pointed behind Woody at a moving shadow.

Woody turned around just in time to see a Shadow Heartless pounce up from the confines of the earth before everything went in slow motion. The dark creature dove towards the toy, claws outstretched, getting ready to steal away its heart. Before harm could come to him, however, a small flame came from the left and pushed the enemy far away from the cowboy.

Confused, Woody turned his head to the side to catch a glimpse of his savior. Sora stood a little ways away, _Kingdom Key _placed in front of his, smoke lifting from the tip of the weapon.

"How did you do that?" Woody was shocked when he saw them summon vehicles from their weapons, but somehow the concept of summoning fire blew his mind away.

"We'll explain later. Right now, go and save Buzz while we handle things here." As he said this more and more Heartless surrounded Sora and his friends. Woody was about to go and help them when he saw how fast they struck down their dark enemies.

The gang of heroes jumped away from each other to divide and conquer against the Heartless, which varied by species. Simple ones like Shadows and Soldiers fought alongside the tough Toy Soldiers and some of the annoying Hotrods.

Sora was pitted against a Hotrod. Using the Keyblade, he plunged it below the car's hood and lifted it high in the air, jumping after it. Fueling the blade with fire, he swung it down hard on the car's frame, causing it to fall to the ground hard enough to make a crater on the ground. Now that its HP was lowered to half its original number value, all hell broke loose.

A purple aura surrounded the car and revved up its wheels before charging full speed at Sora. Thinking fast, he dodge rolled out of the way and then again after it tried to run him over again. As it went to attack one last time, Sora leaped into the air and used **Blizzaga **to freeze the ground in front of the Hotrod. The wheels got locked on the patch of ice, causing it to spiral out of control before flipping over onto its back. From there, Sora hacked at the bottom until it finally released its captive hearts and disappeared.

A Toy Soldier stood a little ways away from the battles. It took aim at the triumphant Sora before letting loose three consecutive bullets from the confines of its musket. Sora was unaware of the danger he was in until he heard a clang coming from behind him. Turning around he saw Riku holding up a **Dark Reflega** spell up, safely deflecting the attacks from harming either of them. The bullets lay shattered on the ground in front of them.

"Don't get distracted so easily, Sora." Riku smirked at his friend as he lowered the shield.

"Thanks, Riku. I'm glad you always have my back. Now, let's get them." Sora raised his Keyblade in the air before charging at the Toy Soldier. Seeing the Heartless raise its own weapon to shoot at him, he flipped right over the Soldier as it shot at him. Every single one of the bullets failed to hit his moving body and when he landed on the ground, he slashed and slices right through the body. Standing from his crouched position, he saw yet another Heartless was destroyed.

Riku was fighting another Toy Soldier, but this one was in its pumpkin form. The Heartless started attacking silver-haired teenager with its hatchet and knife. He managed to dodge most of the attacks but the knife managed to slice his vest's left sleeve. The garment managed to protect him from getting hurt too bad and all that he got was a small gash on his shoulder.

Anger fueled his actions as he used _Way to Dawn _to cut off the hand that held the knife, which fell to the ground. Before he could attack the pumpkin's head, the creature enclosed itself in the toy box. Changing his tactics, he started attacking the box, quickly lowering its HP by more than half. As he was about to land the finishing move, the Toy Soldier appeared in its human form, musket pointed at Riku's head.

He closed his eyes and waited for the blow to come. When he heard a clang above his head, he opened his eyes and saw that he was surrounded by a hexagonal shield, courtesy of Sora.

"Now we're even." Sora smiled in triumph.

Nodding at his friend, Riku focused his attention back at his enemy, whose bullet lodged itself in its torso. He pulled his weapon behind himself before plunging it deep inside the Soldier's body. Darkness coated the blade from the gaping wound and pooled down to the handle when he pulled it out.

The Heartless' HP finally dropped to 0 and it disappeared back to the Darkness whence it came. When it was completely gone, the Darkness on the blade evaporated away, leaving no trace of it ever being there.

Kairi was being ganged up on by Shadow and Soldier Heartless; the large amount of Light inside her heart made her the prime target. She seemed afraid at being surrounded by so many Heartless at one time. Taking this as a good sign, the creatures of Darkness pounced on her trembling body. Suddenly, everything changed.

Her fearful look evaporated from her face and a smirk replaced it. Raising _Oathkeeper _high into the air, she used a **Magnet** spell to gather all of her enemies up into one spot. She then threw flame after flame of fireballs the circling Heartless. Sadly, some managed to evade her attack and were about to attack her from behind.

Before they could lay a hand on her, however, the remaining Heartless were sucked up by the use of a **Magnega** spell that Aqua summoned. Following Kairi's example, she attacked her captives with the powers of fire.

After a while, a warm feeling engulfed their bodies as they entered the **Firestorm **Command Style. Now every attack they used was amplified by fire. The population of the Shadows and Soldiers was reduced significantly within seconds and they were all destroyed by the finishing move.

The last of the Heartless were finally taken care of, and just in time too. Sid was running away screaming from something and was heading their way. Aqua used an invisibility spell on everyone gathered before he could see them.

He was so scared that when he entered the house he screamed at seeing his younger sister, who was holding a cabbage-patch kid doll in her arms.

"Nice dolly, nice doll." Sid said cautiously.

At seeing her brother's fearful gaze, Hannah held the doll in front of his face and shook it around. The act caused him to scream like a girl and bolt straight on out of there. She followed after him, happy with having her payback against Sid after all the mean things he's done to her over the years.

Everyone started laughing at the child's crazy antics and celebrating over the fact that they had finally gotten rid of their torturer.

"That was amazing!" Woody exclaimed. "Did you see how scared he got? I could've sworn he wet his pants." This caused another round of laughter.

Just then they heard the sound of a car's horn beeping past the fence. Turning to the source of the noise, they saw that Andy's car getting ready to make its departure.

"Oh no! We've got to hurry." Woody and Buzz were already running towards the fence at breakneck speed.

Woody was able to make it through the fence and was at the car's bumper before he noticed that Buzz was no longer behind him. He saw that the rocket was too big of an item to fit through the hole in the fence and so Buzz was unable to follow behind. Sora and friends were trying to push him through the hole, but it was impossible.

Woody jumped off the bumper just when the car rode out of the driveway. Standing in front of Buzz, Woody pushed down on his body and then pulled him through with relative ease. Riku face palmed himself at not being able to think of such a simple solution.

"Let's go!" Woody motioned for everybody to follow behind.

Standing on the road, they saw how far the blue car had gotten. They were about to follow when they heard the sound of wheels hitting gravel behind them.

"Duck!" Aqua yelled and everyone followed her instruction. The giant moving truck passed harmlessly over them, casting a giant shadow upon their surroundings.

"Come on!" Woody stood up and bolted after the moving truck. Problem was, the truck was moving exceptionally fast. If they didn't catch up soon, they would surely miss their chance completely.

In a burst of light, Keyblade Gliders were summoned and Sora grabbed a hold of Woody's arm to pull him on the skateboard. Kairi did the same with Buzz. Riku and Aqua managed to pass them as the weight of extra passengers made the board and scooter go slower than usual.

"We're going to make it!" Sora exclaimed.

Suddenly, a large shadow surrounded the street. They didn't pay it much attention because they thought it was just a motor vehicle approaching. They were proved wrong when a missile crashed right between where Sora and Kairi were a second ago. The shockwave was so powerful that it caused them to swerve out of control. Woody and Buzz flew forward into the air. Luckily, Woody was able to grab a hold of a rope that was attached to the door to the storage area. Buzz, on the other hand, wasn't as lucky as he slid on the sidewalk and underneath a Volkswagen.

Kairi managed to keep herself balanced on her Glider and, using the handle bars, she activated the rocket boosters to stop herself from crashing onto the rough asphalt. Accelerating the vehicle, she eased herself right next to Sora, who had done the same.

"Are you ok, Kairi?" Sora asked. His voice was filled with concern for her safety and his face was devoid of his usual happy demeanor; his cerulean eyes showed his fear over the fact that she almost got hurt.

"Guys! You need to pay attention to the matter at hand!" Aqua pointed at the thing behind them.

An ebony 40 foot tall robot was following right after them. It displayed the Heartless insignia right in the middle of its abdomen. A square-shaped head held golden eyes that glared at whoever crossed its path. Two antennas on its head conducted an electric current between them. For legs it used a tank to move forward and rockets in the back to speed up whenever Sora and friends tried to get away. A large-caliber high-velocity gun was placed right in smack in the middle of the tank. It was capable of firing kinetic energy penetrators and high explosive rounds. To make it seem more intimidating, flames were painted on both sides of the tank. The whole body was made of steel-plated armor. Because of its design, it was named the Robo-Tanker Heartless.

"He doesn't seem friendly." Sora said, awed at the sheer size of the Heartless.

"No, really?" Riku said sarcastically.

"Please don't fight with each other right now. Focus on fighting that thing instead." Kairi said and then kicked the back of her scooter to shoot herself upwards near its head.

She was just about to fire her weapons when the antennas fired a jolt of electricity through her body. She couldn't help the scream that escaped her mouth as the pain was nothing less than excruciating. The pain caused her to let go of the handle bars and fall. The scooter transformed back into _Destiny's Embrace _before disappearing in a flurry of lights.

Something seemed to snap inside Sora's mind at seeing Kairi falling head first to the ground. Her eyes were closed as she got closer and closer to her demise. He blew caution to the wind as he dove straight after Kairi's unconscious form, going as fast as his board could take him. If he didn't hurry…he didn't want to think about that right now.

She was only 10 feet from the ground now and getting closer. Right before she hit the ground, Sora scooped her up in his arms and maneuvered them out of there. He held her bridal style; placing her head to lie on his left shoulder with his left arm while he hooked his right arm underneath her legs. Risking a glance at her face, he saw how peaceful, and beautiful, she looked. He couldn't stop himself as he gave her a soft kiss on her forehead.

He slowed to a halt a little ways away from the battle before getting off the vehicle. Just then, Riku glided into view in front of both of his best friends. He was also worried about Kairi well-being but it was nothing compared to how Sora was feeling.

"Take care of her." Sora pleaded as he handed her over to Riku, who had just parked his own Glider.

Riku nodded in response to the new mission he was given. When Kairi was safely situated in Riku's arms, Sora hopped back onto his board and flew to help Aqua. All he had on his mind right now was revenge.

Halfway there, Roxas appeared in his astral projection form. He had a look of determination on his face, one similar to Sora's own expression. They nodded at each other before Sora summoned _Two Become One_ into his hand, courtesy of Roxas.

He went up to the robot's abdomen and did an uppercut across the Heartless insignia. The attack barely managed to scratch the surface. This only fueled his anger as he did a cross-slash on the steel plating.

This only managed to anger the robot as it raised its arm high and brought it down on Sora's body. The force caused him to be blown away a couple of feet before a dome stopped Sora from getting any farther. Aqua flew right next to him to see if he was ok.

"Sora, you've got to calm down. If you let your anger get to you, it might make things worse." She reprimanded him.

He didn't seem to hear her as his fury was too large. He did a battle cry before going back to attacking. This time, however, he tried using magic against the giant creature. Using a **Blizzaga **spell, he froze the road right in front of the moving creature. That didn't seem to work as the suspension systems managed to help the wheels destroy the patch of ice.

The tanker shot some of its explosive rounds at Sora, who summoned up his own **Reflega** spell attack. The rounds were so powerful that it caused him to be pushed backwards a bit. Without the shield, he surely would've been killed.

Aqua, who had been assessing the situation, had finally come up with a plan. Now to get Sora to calm down long enough to listen…

"Sora! You've got to listen to me!" She tried to get his attention before he tried another failed attempt. It didn't seem to work.

He tried electrocuting the thing. It might've worked if the lightning rods on its head didn't absorb the impact of the attack before sending it right back at him. Sora retaliated by using **Aero** to redirect the electricity up at the clouds.

"Ok, that's it." Aqua glided over to Sora and muttered her favorite spell; **Stop**.

Sora's body froze in the position he was in. Both of his hands clutched hard on the handle of his weapon while his left leg was placed in front of his other one (on the Glider). The only thing he was able to do move his eyes, and that was just barely.

"Now, I've got an idea on how to beat this thing. But you've got to _pay attention_!" She was a bit miffed at having to go to such extremes. And the fact that the Heartless was pelting her with bullets wasn't helping anything.

She summoned a shield large enough to surround both of them before continuing. When she was done explaining her plan, she dropped the **Stop** spell and watched him relax his tense muscles. By now Sora managed to take a deep breath and lose his hostile behavior, if only by a little.

Aqua sent a barrage of magic attacks at the robot's body. None of the attacks managed to do much damage at all. But that wasn't her intention. After a couple more attacks she entered the **Spellweaver** Command Style. From there she used she telepathically used the Glider to hit at its chest, creating deep scratches on its chest to create an X-shaped indent. When she felt the Command Style was coming to its end phase, she signaled for Sora to get ready.

"Now!" She yelled and Sora pointed _Two Become One_ at her to send a **Triple Firaga **spell at her.

When the flames were close to her, she started spinning in her spot, Glider and all, creating a cyclone that surrounded her body. The flames fused with the cyclone to create a tornado of fire. Using this to her advantage, Aqua flung herself at the indent she made only a couple of moments ago. The fire melted right through the steel armor and letting her go right through to the other side, creating a giant hole where the Heartless symbol was.

As soon as the finisher was done, she nodded for Sora to do defeat the thing. Sora flew right inside the hole and performed a spell Donald had taught him the previous year. Holding the Keyblade into the air, he willed the power of ice to follow his command. The **Ice Barrage** attack caused giant chunks of ice to rise up and hit at some of the monster's wiring. From there, Sora backed away from the inside of the robot and used a **Fira** spell to melt the icebergs. The result was water that started short-circuiting the thing from the inside out.

And that was all it took for the Heartless to 'die'. The Robo-Tanker began to spasm as bolts of electricity discharged itself into the air. It kept going until the head started vibrating at dangerous velocity until it finally exploded. What remained of the robot collapsed itself onto the street. Then a giant heart rose from the wreckage and kept rising until it returned back to Kingdom Hearts.

Sora and Aqua were now panting as the battle finally took its toll on their bodies. They were about to relax when Sora remembered something very important.

"Riku! Kairi!" He yelled, looking for any signs of Riku and Kairi. He kept calling her name until he heard Riku's response.

"We're down here." Riku yelled up at the two in the sky. He and Kairi were hiding underneath a blue minivan. Kairi was still feeling a bit disoriented after being shocked by the electrical current and so had to lie down on the ground to get her strength back.

"Kairi!" He screamed again as he dove straight down to meet them. Dispersing his Glider, he jumped down and crouched down to her left side. Riku was at the other side.

"Kairi, open your eyes." He pleaded. For some reason this gave him a weird sense of déjà vu.

In response, she gave a small moan of pain before opening her periwinkle eyes. She had to squint as the abruptness of the sunlight caused her eyes to hurt. When her eyes adjusted to the light, she turned her sights on the brunet boy and the silver-haired one. She had no time to say anything as Sora hugged her close to him. Sora's heart filled with joy the moment Kairi opened her eyes. He had the desire to keep her close and to never let her go. The desire was so great that he hugged her without thinking.

Kairi's heart started beating faster at being this close to her crush and her cheeks colored a pink hue. Her flustered state ended when she felt her hair get cold.

"Sora?" She asked cautiously.

At the sound of his name being called by the beauty before him, Sora pulled his head away from her hair to look at her. He heard her gasp in surprise at the sight of his face. Tears flowed from his eyes and down his cheeks. The sheer sadness in his gaze caused her breath to hitch.

"I thought I lost you." Sora said, sounding all broken. Who knew it was so easy to break the Keyblade Master.

Kairi wrapped her arms around Sora's neck and brought him in close so that his face was covered by her hair and her head was placed on his left shoulder before responding.

"I'm fine. Don't worry; I'm not going anywhere." She whispered into his ear while rubbing her hands down his back gently. While she did this, Sora summoned a **Cure** spell on his fingers and rubbed her back soothingly to spread all throughout her body. Her body tingled in the places where he touched her, either by the warmth of the spell or just by the warmth of his fingertips.

By now Riku had walked away from the scene as it felt a bit uncomfortable for him to stay so close to his friends. Standing next to Aqua, they both stared at the interaction between Sora and Kairi.

"They have no idea they love each other, do they?" Aqua asked.

"Nope. They're really oblivious to one another." Riku responded.

It took a while, but he finally composed himself and then they slowly pulled away from their embrace. They held each other's' gaze as they separated from one another.

"Come on, we've got to see if Woody and Buzz are ok." Kairi said after finally being able to stand on her own. Of course, Sora had to help her up off the floor, but that's beside the point.

"Right." Sora agreed. Neither of them noticed that they were still holding hands as they walked over to Riku and Aqua to voice their plan. That is until they saw how close they were standing near each other. They let their united hands drop and both looked away, blushing as they did.

_**/**_

After a couple of minutes of scouring the streets for any sign of Woody, Buzz, or even the moving truck, they finally found it. The truck was locked and no onewas around. They must be inside the house of where they parked. Boxes littered the front yard of the house, each one labeled 'Andy's Room'.

The wielders of the Keyblade opened up the boxes and reunited with all of Andy's toys and the Disney gang. Donald was still miffed at them for taking forever to return while Goofy and Mickey were just glad that they were ok. After quickly recapping what happened during the past couple of days, Sora and friends decided that it was best to be on their way.

"But how are we going to leave without the rockets for the Gummi Ship?" Goofy asked, rubbing his head with his finger.

"There's got to be something we can do. Maybe—" Aqua started but was stopped when she saw Sora's Keyblade being summon without his consent. After looking down at his blade, Sora finally understood.

"Everyone, stay back." He told them as he raised the _Kingdom Key_ in front of him. The second he did, the tip started to glow a white light and a shimmering noise rang from the truck's giant door. An indentation of a keyhole appeared on it. Sora moved over so he was standing right in front of the keyhole before he pointed the Keyblade directly at it. A beam of light shot from the tip of the blade and hit the keyhole directly. A locking sound was emitted when they touched and it shone brighter and brighter until the thing disappeared. But not before leaving something behind…

"What is that?" Kairi asked, pointing at the object that fell from the keyhole.

Donald went up to the colorful object and picked it up. Walking over to Mickey, he started talking excitedly about the thing they were given. A few moments later, Donald went over to the Gummi Ship and closed the door behind him. Everyone else was confused as to what just happened and made it a point to Mickey.

"You won't believe it. The object that was trapped in the Keyhole was we were looking for." Mickey explained.

"You don't mean…" Riku asked a bit skeptically.

"Yep! It was a Gummi Rocket. With it we'll finally be able to get the Gummi Ship fixed." Hope filled everyone's heart with this piece of news.

"So, this mean you're leaving?" Woody came up and asked. He was sad that his newfound friends were about to leave so soon.

"Yeah, but we promise we'll be back." Sora promised.

"Well then, the faster you guys leave, the faster you come back." Buzz stated. This caused Kairi to giggle before she nodded.

The rocket was a perfect fit and it only took a couple of minutes to replace the dead one with the new one. Then they were ready to go.

"Bye! We'll miss you!" The toys yelled after the now floating ship and the hovering vehicles.

The Keybladers summoned their armors and balanced themselves on their Gliders before they waved goodbye to their toy companions. Then they punched the acceleration and flew passed the clouds and into the atmosphere. When they managed to get leave the planet's gravitational pull, they eased their footing on the boosting systems.

"Any idea how to get to Castle Oblivion from here?" Riku asked over the noise of the boosters.

Aqua pulled out her Wayfinder from a secret compartment in her armor before holding it close to her heart. Closing her eyes, she opened her heart to look for her home world.

_Please, give me a sign._ She pleaded the Wayfinder to help them. Almost immediately the star in her hand began to glow a soft purple color. Feeling warmth upon her breastbone, she opened her eyes just in time to see a beam of light being shot in front of them. A portal of light appeared a couple of feet away from them. Everyone halted their movements as they grew a bit nervous as to what just happened.

"What is that?" Kairi asked, head cocked to the side.

"That, is our miracle." Aqua' response was a bit vague but no one had the chance to ask her what she meant before she flew right into the doorway of light and disappeared. Sora followed her after feeling a magnetic pull coming from beyond the portal.

Without much of a choice, the remaining few let their vehicles fly into the expanse of light. But for some reason, Kairi felt a feeling of dread creep up on her. She pushed the feeling away, thinking it was just Naminé's reluctance to return to her birthplace, before disappearing along with everyone else.

"**So, what did you guys think?" JAM asked the KH characters.**

**They shrugged indifferently. "It was fine." **

**JAM deadpans before shooing their responses away. "What do you guys know? It's for my readers to decide if it's a good chapter or not." JAM is now staring out onto the camera, grinning from ear to ear.**

"**So, did you guys like it? I felt like the ending was a bit rushed. I was trying to update for Easter and I'm glad that I managed to do it. Seems I'm following my pattern of updating on holidays. So, that means the next update will be for either Cinco de Mayo or Mother's Day. Not sure I can update twice in one weekend so it'll most likely be a double holiday update."**

"**Don't you ever take a breath?" Sora asked causing JAM to glare at him. **

"**Anyway, don't forget to review and tell me what you liked about it and what I should work a bit more on. Just, don't be mean in the review." **


	11. Entering the Fortress

**Everyone was sitting down in front of a television screen, trying to get the boredom out of their systems. Suddenly, the door burst open and JAM came in, script in his hands. **

"**Yes! I'm finally done!" He exclaimed, showing everyone the contents of the new chapter. **

"**Well, it's about time." Riku muttered, earning a glare from JAM.**

"**Shut it. At least I finished it." JAM told him.**

"**Well tell that to your readers." Riku retorted. **

**This caused JAM to get all guilty. Turning to the audience, JAM spoke. "I'm sorry guys. I wasn't able to finish it last week like I promised because I had two writing assignments I had to do for English and History. It took me forever to do them so I didn't have time to write this." **

**Silence came from the audience at his apology. Not knowing how to take this, JAM tried to change the subject. **

"**Anyway, let's start the chapter. How about you do it this time, Terra?" JAM diverted his attention to the tall dude. **

"**What? Why me? I'm not even in this story." Terra tried excusing himself from the job. **

"**Just say it." JAM was bored of the conversation.**

"**Fine. JAM doesn't own anything except for the plot. There, done." Terra said before he left the room.**

"**Well, here you have it." JAM motioned to the television as the chapter started.**

**Chapter 11: Entering the Fortress**

_Smoke filled the screen, obscuring the view of a tall structure. As the fog began to clear, you could see golden towers with green tops. Below it, winding staircases that led up, down and side to side were surrounded by darkness. As the fog finally disappeared, two large letters appeared. The letters __**C**__ and __**O**__ could be seen as they started to glow a white light until the rest of the World's name was spelled out: __**Castle Oblivion**__._

Four Keyblade Gliders and a red and gold Gummi Ship came spiraling out of a giant white portal, landed on a path that weaved its way forward to a large structure in the distance.

The structure was in fact a strange looking castle that had twisted towers placed arbitrarily. The whole thing was built on a floating piece of land that looked to be completely surrounded by an abyss of Darkness, yet in the background you could see clouds clearing away to reveal sunlight. Below the ground, sets of upside down towers that made up the 12 basement levels could be seen. Stained glass windows adorned the tallest of the towers and a beast-shaped face glared at any trespassers right below those windows.

Aqua stared up at the monstrosity that used to be her home world. It didn't seem like that long ago since she stood upon this land under the care of her late master. She held her Wayfinder to her heart and promised herself that soon she'll return the world to what it used to be; the majesty that was once the Land of Departure.

Coming out of her reverie, she started walking up the path and to the castle's doors, the rest of the party following behind her.

"So this is Castle Oblivion." Kairi muttered in awe. She stared in wonderment as she tried to memorize every little feature of the outside.

"Yes. This is the remains of my old home. Now, let's go." Aqua replied and ushered everyone to right in front of the golden doors.

Sora and Riku stood side by side in front of the group. Nodding at one another, they each grabbed one of the golden rings on the doors and pulled. After a little effort, the doors gave way to their ministrations and opened up.

The inside of the castle was decorated with pearl white walls. Pillars of the same color stood to the corners of the room. The only thing that broke through the absence of color was the doors located at the north and south sides of the room.

Suddenly, a golden light came from around Kairi's neck as her necklace activated itself. Light engulfed the room as Naminé appeared right in front of Kairi, back facing her original self. Sora's pendant did the same as Roxas appeared to Sora's right.

Something was peculiar about the separation this time, though; the amulets that Sora and Kairi wore were now divided differently than from the last time. Before, the pendants were divided equally between the Nobodies and Somebodies, yet now 2/3 of their amulets hung around the Nobodies' necks while the other 1/3 was placed around the Somebodies' necks. No one seemed to notice this change, however.

Naminé stood tensely in front of the others, her right hand holding onto her left arm as she kept her eyes fixed on the floor in front of her.

"I never thought I would come back to this place again." She whispered softly. Everyone had to strain their ears to listen.

She still remembered all those times of loneliness she had felt while her stay here and then shivered at the memories of her times with her 'companions'. All the torturous things the sadist Larxene and the pompous Marluxia did to her still kept her awake at night.

She heard movement coming from behind her and then felt strong arms surround her lithe body from behind. Then, she heard him tell her something in her ear.

"It's okay, Nami. You won't have to go through it alone. We're here with you. I'm here for you." The words of comfort he said caused her body to get warm and her nonexistent heart to soar.

"Thank you, Sora." She said as she turned around and gave the brunet teen a grateful smile before putting her arm around him in a friendly hug.

Near the door, Donald and Goofy stared at the scene in adoration. Their looks of giddiness disappeared when they felt a dark presence coming from their right. Turning to the source of the feeling, they screamed and jumped to the left as they saw Roxas surrounded by an aura of fire. His eyes were glaring at the two hugging teens while his hands closed into fists, hands becoming white at how hard he squeezed them.

Suddenly, they felt a similar presence coming from their other side. Turning, they screamed in fear yet again and jumped backwards at seeing Kairi being fueled by feelings of fury and jealousy. She was in the same state as Roxas and her face was completely colored red with anger.

The sight of both of their friends like this made Donald and Goofy huddle together to try and keep each other safe. No one paid them any attention as Aqua and Mickey walked closer to the door that led to the second floor.

"So, what do we do now, Aqua?" Mickey asked her. He stared cautiously as she summoned _Master Keeper _to her hand.

"This is the only Keyblade that can reveal the door to the hidden chamber. We must first reach the top floor to be able to enter." She explained.

"Alright, is everyone ready?" Turning around to face the others, she raised her voice to get everyone's attention.

That seemed to force the others to stop whatever it was they were doing. Dropping their arms, Sora and Naminé looked over at Aqua and nodded.

"Come on, let's go." Sora said as he grabbed a hold of the blonde's hand and led her down the hallway.

This seemed to cause both the red-headed female and male blond to get more upset, but they managed to push their thoughts aside long enough for them to storm after the rest, grumbling as they walked.

Donald and Goofy finally came out of their frightened state as they stared at one another before pushing themselves upright. They've faced demons of Darkness, yet something as simple as a teen's jealousy scared them. They promised one another that they would never mention it _ever_ again before running after their friends.

Riku, who was leaning on a nearby pillar the whole time, brought up the rear.

What they didn't notice was that as the door to the outside closed, a shadow came slithering in. Once out of sight of the heroes, it rose itself to its true disposition and the Guardian smirked evilly after the retreating figures. It growled briefly before returning to its shadow form and then weaved towards Riku's shadow, merging completely with it.

The silver-haired teen felt a dark presence was near but after surveying the area, he saw no one around. Glaring at his surroundings, he shrugged his arms before passing through the doors. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling something bad was going to happen.

_**/**_

After taking 11 flights of stairs, they finally made it to the 12th floor. Just one more floor to go and they would make it to the top floor of the fortress. It had taken them 15 minutes to get up there and soon the time limit on the pendants' spell would be up.

As Naminé walked forward, she swore she could almost hear Larxene's cackles coming from farther up, taunting her. But what really made her weary to continue was the fact that she felt like something was following them. Turning left and right, she failed to see anything out of the ordinary.

"Nami, are you okay?" Sora asked, worried. Ever since they stepped foot on this floor he could see something troubling his sister figure.

His worry for her caused a smile of reassurance to grace her angelic face as she nodded at him. After everything she's put him through, she didn't want to him to worry about her. Though her face said she was fine, her eyes held slight fear and weariness in their depths. Though Sora could see it, he chose to be quiet.

Roxas wasn't convinced either. He walked up to her until he stood right beside her and then lifted his hand to stroke her cheek.

"Are you sure? We could return back inside Sora and Kairi if you're not up for it." He told her soothingly. He and Kairi seemed to have simmered down after walking up all those flights of stairs.

She lifted her hand to keep his calloused hand on her soft cheek. "I'm fine, really. Besides, everyone has to face their fears sooner or later. So, I'm going to keep going until this runs out of juice." She used her other hand to show him her piece of the necklace. Staring at the piece of jewelry, she rose her eyebrow in confusion.

"Huh, that's weird." She muttered more to herself.

"What is it?" Roxas asked.

"I could've sworn the last time I wore this, it was smaller." Moving her eyes to Kairi's neck, she saw the other piece of the necklace and frowned. "And Kairi's part used to be bigger."

"Now that you mention it, the piece of the crown necklace on my neck is a lot bigger than before. I wonder what it all means." Roxas contemplated the significance of this but drew a blank.

"Hm, maybe—" Roxas began before he heard a whooshing sound coming from behind him. "Look out!" He yelled before pushing Naminé out of the way. Just as he did, a green and yellow knife lodged itself deep inside his left shoulder. The blow was so hard that he fell to the ground.

The attack was so painful that he couldn't keep himself from screaming out loud. The thing had gone through so deep inside his shoulder that the only thing that could be seen was the handle.

"Roxas!" Naminé screamed as she knelt down next to his fallen figure. Suddenly, an electrical current lit the knife and shocked Roxas.

"Pull it out!" He told her, his voice laced with pain.

"But you'll begin to bleed." She tried coaxing him out of the plan but she didn't see any alternative.

"Just do it!" He almost yelled out. The electric current running through his body made him convulse in pain.

"OK!" She screamed as she moved her hand to the handle of the knife and then electricity shocked her. Tears sprang to her eyes when she saw him scream louder as she pulled on the invading figure. The thing jerked out after much effort and then she dropped it on the ground as it was still laced with the current.

Putting both of her hands on the wound, she muttered the words to a healing spell. **Cura** worked effectively as the damage started to disappear under a wave of green light. When the spell ended, she saw that there was no trace of the wound left.

She was about to hug Roxas when she saw three more knives heading her way. She looked like a deer in headlights for a moment before she placed her body over Roxas's and then she saw no more as she closed her eyes tight shut. She waited for the pain to come but when it didn't she raised her head up to see what had happened.

Sora stood in front of the two Nobodies as he protected them with a **Reflega** spell. The shield managed to deflect the attacks and the knives fell to the floor with a clang.

"You guys okay?" Sora asked, looking over his shoulder at the two on the ground. Only when he saw them give him a nod did he sigh in relief. Turning to the others he yelled out a command.

"Everyone be on your guard. Who knows where those things will come from next." Sora said. This caused everyone to summon up spells of defense to protect themselves. Well, everyone except for Goofy who held his shield out in front of him for protection.

On the ground, Naminé grabbed a hold of the offending object, which had now stopped sending out sparks, and gasped as a spark of remembrance shot through her. These weapons only belonged to one being and the electrical charges only confirmed her suspicions.

"Sora, I know who's behind these attacks." At the questioning glance he gave her, she explained. "There's only one person who would attacks such as these. It's Larxene." She shivered when she said the name and saw Sora do the same.

"But, how is that possible?" Sora looked turned pale at the startling bits of news. "It isn't possible, right?"

"Oh, but it is." Everyone turned their heads to see a grayish corridor appear in front of the stairwell that led to the 11th floor. From inside the portal, a black hooded figure stepped onto the marble floor. By the looks of the curves and the voice that came out from underneath the hood it was safe to say that the mysterious figure was female.

The woman's heels clicked as she walked forward until she was in the center of the room. The others took their battle stances as they waited for her to do something; they weren't disappointed as she raised her hands up to the front of the hood. Pulling it back, they saw a glimpse at blonde hair before her face was revealed.

Her bright, blonde hair was slicked back and about jaw-length, with two long strands styled into distinctive antennae-like strands. The woman's green eyes stared at them, with a sadistic smile on her face.

Those that recognized her gasped in surprise. The looks of pure surprise only brought pride upon the female Organization member and made her smile grow.

"But, how is that possible? We saw you disappear." Donald wondered.

_Something's wrong here_. Riku thought. _She may look like Larxene, but her scent says otherwise._

"Who are you, really?" Riku asked the blonde woman. For some reason, she chose to ignore his question as she summoned another round of knives into her closed hands. Lifting her right fist up, she pointed the weapon at her enemies.

"You are trespassing here and so I must eliminate you." She threatened.

"What are you supposed to be, this world's defense?" Aqua snidely remarked causing Larxene to cackle at her words.

"You could say that. I have been instructed to protect the brat who rests beyond the final door. Now, enough talk. Prepare to die!" She yelled out as she sent a blast of lightning at Aqua.

Aqua acted fast and placed her Keyblade in the Lightning's path. Once it hit the blade, she swung her Keyblade in a wide arc to her right making the bolt of electricity to fly that way, singeing the once pure white wall and turning it a dark grey color.

"You'll have to do better than that to defeat us." Aqua smirked. Aqua and rest of the party started circling the Savage Nymph.

Her remark caused Larxene to glare at Aqua and ground her teeth for a second before she returned the smirk with one of her own.

"You want more? Well you got it." She said as she jumped backwards until she was in the middle of the room. There, she jumped high in the air, dodging the surprise attack Sora and Riku tried to make with with their weapons. Her body radiated Lightning as she threw her knives to the ground, creating a large barrage of electricity that surged through the surrounding area.

Sora and Riku, being right below her, took the most damage of the attack, bodies contorting into spasms as electricity wound through their bodies. The aftershocks of the attack paralyzed their bodies.

The girls skidded across the floor and away from Larxene. The worst they endured were some scrapes and bruises on their arms and knees. Standing quickly, they bolted towards the Savage Nymph.

Donald and Goofy were blown away towards the walls on opposite sides. The impact knocked both of the anthropomorphic animals out cold. Mickey was fortunate enough to use his quick footwork to use the momentum to bounce off the walls and towards Larxene, Keyblade outstretched in front of him.

Larxene, noticing Mickey, moved out of the way of the Keyblade's attack, but not before it ripped a piece of her cloak off. In a fit of anger, the blonde female grabbed ahold of Mickey's hood before he got too far and slammed him to the ground. The force caused the Mouse King to see spots in his vision, but managed to remain conscious.

"Seems we have a little rat problem." Larxene spit out. "Let me show you how I get rid of pests like you."

She raised her fist high above her head, _Foudre _held in between her knuckles, and then drove it down towards Mickey's large head. Before she was a couple of inches away from dealing the killing blow, she felt weak fire spell hit her square in the back. Turning around she saw that it was Naminé who attacked her, the tip of _Déjà Vu_ emitting a small puff of smoke into the air.

Returning her attention to her captive, she grabbed ahold of the front of his shirt with her right hand before rising to her feet, hoisting him along with her. Bringing his face in front of her own, she smiled deviously at him.

"Guess I'll have to deal with you later." As she said this, tendrils of lightning flowed from the tips of her fingers of her left hand to Mickey's body. Suddenly, the tendrils merged together to form a small cage of electricity that trapped Mickey inside its clutches.

Throwing the cage to the ground, Larxene focused on the other females in the room, who were charging at her with looks of anger and hatred upon their faces.

Aqua was the first to strike as she used a **Sliding Dash** attack to reduce the distance between the two. When she was a little ways from the blonde, Aqua spread her arms to her side as she used **Barrier Surge **to try and attack her. Larxene's fast reflex allowed her to move sideways just in time to avoid the attack, but Aqua anticipated this. Once close enough, she moved her body so that it faced her before sending forth a **Triple Firaga** spell at close range. The force of the attack caused Aqua to be pushed slightly backwards at the same time Larxene was sent into a wall, creating an indentation of her body shape where she crashed.

At this time, Roxas stood up from his spot on the ground and summoned _Oathkeeper _and _Oblivion_ before making his way over to the fight. Just as he was a couple of feet from Naminé, the latter raised her left arm that caused him to stop in his tracks.

"Roxas, go and make sure everyone else is alright." Naminé instructed without removing her eyes from the smoking dent in the wall.

"But—"He tried to say only to have her turn on him and give him a glare, which caused him to stop arguing. "Ok, I'm on it."

Just as he said this, Roxas ran over to his fallen comrades. Deciding to start with Sora first, he made his way there first. The brunet's body was still locked in a spasm when Roxas crouched down. Raising _Oathkeeper _into the air, he summoned up an **Esuna** spell that completely got rid of the paralysis. Slapping Sora in the face, Roxas managed to wake his Other up.

By now Larxene had walked out of the indentation and was red with fury. Touching her hair, she noticed that the right half of her hair had been singed completely black. Her eyes widened in surprise before turning her glance at Aqua. That was the last straw for her.

"You want to play rough? Fine, I'm tired of holding back, anyway." Larxene said as a giant barrier surrounded the girls before she started to up gather energy. Screams of fury came out of her mouth as she got ready to do her attack.

Bolts of electricity surrounded her body on all sides by damaging Lightning. Whoever got stuck within the confines would've surely been destroyed at the intensity. The gathering of electricity seemed to take a lot out of Larxene as her muscles tensed by the force she exerted. When enough energy was gathered, Larxene multiplied herself into 3 of hers before she pushed herself towards the three girls.

Naminé barely had enough time to dodge roll out of the way before Larxene's assault flew by her. Kairi managed to cast a **Reflect **spell to block the attack. When the knife hit her shield, the copy just disappeared out of thin air. Aqua jumped high into the air and dodged the attack with ease. No way was she going to get hit by someone like Larxene.

When the attack was done, she appeared behind Naminé and slashed at the teen's back. The gash was shallow but was deep enough for blood to ooze down the small of her back and stain her once pure white dress a dark red color. She then disappeared in a small Corridor of Darkness and went after Kairi who was ready for the attack.

Kairi rolled sideways before sliding her Keyblade below the Nobody's legs, causing her to slip backwards. Before she hit the ground, however, Larxene disappeared in another flash of Darkness and reappeared in front of Aqua.

The blue-haired woman blocked the knife's attack with _Stormfall_ before pushing hard on the hand holding the weapon. The motion caused Larxene to stumble back towards an awaiting Kairi who hit her square in the back. Payback really was a bitch.

Suddenly, the Nobody disappeared again and then 5 of her surrounded Naminé. The latter moved around to catch the movements of the copies. Right when they went to attack, she pointed her Keyblade towards the ground and used a **Zero Graviga **spell to fly high into the air. The aftershocks of the spell caused the clones to levitate along with her. Lucky for Naminé, the copies couldn't control their body movements.

The blonde teen took this opportunity and used **Aerora** to gather them all up in a vortex of wind. The clones spun clockwise with the mini-tornado and some even collided with one another. Those that collided fused together and the amount of clones shrunk until there were only 2 left.

As the spells died down, the 3 bodies fell down to the ground, feet first. Looking at the two clones, it was easy to tell which of the two the real one was. The doppelganger's hair color was lighter, almost white, and she seemed to be wearing lipstick as her lips were redder and fuller. That, and the fact that she was smiling at them while the other one was glaring daggers.

The grinning one lifted her hands up to her sides and then rose a foot off the ground. Laughing maniacally, she then began to spin in place as she executed a devastating attack. She fired long columns of lightning spheres from her arms in a straight line around the room.

While the clone was attacking, the real Larxene used her legs to push herself forward at an alarming rate towards Aqua. The water maiden cartwheeled out of the way but something weird happened. Larxene was about to crash into the wall when she fazed right through it. A second later, she jumped right behind Kairi. The red-headed girl jumped back, but she didn't see where she was going and a second later, a ball of electricity shocked her from behind.

The pain was near-blinding and caused Kairi to kneel down where she stood. Catching her breath, she didn't see Larxene coming from behind her, knife stretched out in front of her. Just before the knife cut her head off, however, Naminé bolted from her spot and pushed both herself and Kairi away from the attack.

Aqua was ready to cartwheel when Larxene changed her tactics as her move came to an end. Instead of coming from the walls, she appeared right above Aqua's head and used gravity to strengthen her attack. If it wasn't for Aqua's quick reflexes, she would've been destroyed. The move ended as bolts of lightning rained down and surrounded the spot where she landed. The clone's attack finished at the same time as the original.

Both Larxene and her clone walked side-by-side to where the three girls were. Kairi was being held up by Naminé, her left arm around the blonde's neck. Aqua stood to the left of them, watching Larxene carefully. The two approaching women suddenly fused with one another before Larxene stopped in her spot.

"Well, don't you guys look pitiful?" Larxene said, snidely. Aqua responded by giving the blonde a glare before turning to look at her companions.

Kairi was barely standing on her own two feet and her breathing was shallow. The attack must've taken a lot out of her and she was now weakened. Holding her up, Naminé might not have looked as bad, but she was still hurt. The bleeding had stopped but her back was now crusted by dried blood.

"It's not over until it's over!" Kairi's voice was filled with determination as she said this. Something seemed off, though. Her health seemed to be getting worse as time went on yet Naminé seemed to be getting stronger and livelier.

"That's right, Kairi. Now, let's show this witch what we can do!" Aqua said before pointing _Stormfall_ over her head.

Muttering the incantation, Aqua used the **Group Curaga** spell. A blooming flower appeared above each of the girls' heads as their strength returned. Kairi's breathing returned to normal before she got herself out of Naminé's grip.

All three girls stood in their respective battle stances. Staring down at the world's defender, they could tell that Larxene was losing energy. Her hair was disheveled, with part of it gone, and her black cloak had holes in it from all the attacks the Keyblades unleashed on her.

"Hey guys, hold up a sec." Naminé whispered to Kairi and Aqua, never turning her attention away from Larxene.

"What is it?" Kairi asked.

"I think I know a way of defeating her. Just distract her for me and I'll do the rest." Naminé said.

Nodding, Kairi and Aqua left their spots and went after Larxene, each one heading for her in different directions. Kairi made a running start before she jumped up high over Larxene's head, Keyblade in front of her. This time, however, Larxene was ready for the attack.

Summoning another round of knives in her knuckles, she manipulated the flow of electricity to head to her hands. Moving her arms in circles, the tips of the knives merged together with the lightning until they elongated and transformed. The knives were gone and in their place were two large swords made entirely of electrical might. The weapons seemed to have fused with her arms as they were no longer made of flesh and bone but of free flowing energy.

Raising her left arm, she used it to block the downward strike Kairi was going for. The impact caused the energy to ripple on Larxene's arms while sparks flew from the metal blade of the Keyblade. Both opponents stared at one another; one was glaring while the other one was smirking at the other's blunder.

Larxene then raised the other sword from her waist towards Kairi's body. Holding Kairi in place, Larxene maneuvered the sword so that it was right by her head.

"Nice try, kid. But it looks like this is the end for you." She told Kairi before drawing back the sword and sending it back to cleave the red-haired girl's head off.

Just before the sword touched the jugular of Kairi's neck, Larxene heard Aqua yell out **"Freeze!"** before she felt her whole right arm being turned into an ice formation. The flow of electricity was still present as it shined brightly inside the piece of ice.

Larxene let out a growl from deep inside her throat before she used her unfrozen arm to push Kairi back a few feet. She then smashed her left sword arm to break through the ice prison her arm was in. Shaking her freed arm, Larxene got rid of any excess frozen mush before she recoated her arm with electricity.

"How much longer, Naminé?" Kairi asked before she parried one of Larxene's moves.

"Just a little bit longer." The girl in question responded. _Déjà Vu _started to glow a white aura before a giant puff of smoke surrounded her body. From inside the smoke cloud, they heard her warning.

"Get out of the way!" Naminé yelled out for her companions to heed her cry. It came in just in time as a giant steel snake was slithered their way. The thing acted just like a serpent as it bared its fangs before jumping at the three girls.

Kairi and Aqua jumped backwards in great precision out of harm's way. Larxene wasn't so lucky. The snake's body wrapped around the blonde's body as tight as it could, effectively suffocating her. When she was wrapped tightly, the snake's head moved so that it was staring directly at the blonde, showing her its poison-filled teeth.

Larxene started struggling against the hold the metal snake had on her, but it only caused it to get tighter and tighter. After a while, she stopped her meaningless resistance.

"Well, it looks like the cute little girl has a dark side." Larxene brought out her fearless façade and taunted the blonde teen who was now only a few feet away from her wound up body.

The serpent's origin was actually from the blade of Naminé's Keyblade. She was keeping a tight grip on the body with her left hand while pushed back on the Keyblade itself. Suddenly, the snake began to glow a blue color before it transformed into a solid steel chain that kept her in place.

Moving her left wrist a bit, she lifted Larxene a foot off the ground and began moving her in circles. When she was satisfied enough, she yelled at Kairi.

"Catch!" Naminé said before the chain that held Larxene in place vanished into a puff of smoke and returned to rest on her weapon's blade. The move was so sudden that Larxene was thrown 20 feet in Kairi's direction.

Holding her Keyblade like a baseball bat, Kairi got ready for the next step of the Limit command.

"Batter up!" When Larxene was in front of her, she swung _Destiny's Embrace_ with all her might, making Larxene fly high towards the ceiling.

Finally it was Aqua's turn as she used **Doubleflight** to jump high into the air. The move allowed her to reach the ceiling faster than Larxene. Right before she hit the ceiling headfirst, Aqua flipped herself around so that her feet hit the top of the room instead. Pushing on her feet, she used the momentum, and gravity, to propel herself down towards the ascending figure. As she got closer, she pulled _Stormfall_ back before pushing it down on Larxene's back. She went by so fast that a second later she was crouched down on the ground, Keyblade held close to her stomach. High above they heard an explosion take place as Larxene was destroyed.

The barrier that surrounded the contenders disappeared as the reason for its being was gone. In the corner, Mickey's electric cage vanished into thin air, freeing the mouse king. The boys all ran over to the victorious girls.

Sora moved towards Kairi and before she knew it, she was lifted off the ground by the grinning brunet. The action caused Kairi to giggle in happiness. Roxas, on the other hand, went over to Naminé and the two stood right in front of one another, too shy to do anything physical. They confined their feelings to giving one another loving looks.

"That was great, Kairi!" Sora told the redhead as he placed her down on the ground. His hands were still placed on her waist as he held her at arm's length.

Staring at one other, they seemed to have gotten lost in the other's eyes. Seeing the all the love they showed one another through their eyes, they leaned in slowly. As they were about to kiss, however, a violent quake filled the room. Sora and Kairi broke eye contact as Kairi almost fell down on the floor. Luckily Sora was there to catch her.

"What's going on?" Donald quacked.

Suddenly a red cyclone appeared right below Aqua's feet. A second later, she disappeared inside the cyclone. The swirling vortex seemed to be pulling the heroes towards its clutches. Everyone used their weapons to keep themselves grounded, but the vortex was relentless. Kairi's grip on her weapon loosened suddenly as she was lifted into the air.

Before Kairi was blown inside, she felt one of Sora's calloused hands grab ahold of her petite ones; his other hand was holding onto _Kingdom Key's_ hilt while the blade was pushed in the ground.

"Sora, I can't hold on!" Kairi yelled against the roaring winds. Her grip on Sora's hand started loosening as Sora tried pulling her towards in.

"Don't let go!" Sora said, desperately. By now, they were holding onto one each other by the tip of their fingers.

Tears flowed freely from both Sora's and Kairi's eyes. Believing this was the end for her, Kairi opened her mouth to tell him her heart's secret.

"Sora, it's too late. And before I go, I wanted to tell you something. I lo—" Kairi was cut off as her hold on Sora's hands was broken and she was sent spiraling inside the vortex.

"Kairi!" Sora yelled out. Right next to him, he heard Roxas scream out Naminé's name, instead. Their knees buckled as their source of light were gone.

Almost as if the winds got what it wanted, the cyclone started dwindling until it vanished completely. The only thing that was left of the cyclone was a small red object that fell down right in front of Sora's defeated body. Picking it up, Sora's grief was pushed away by fury. In his hand he held the lone petal of a rose. Closing his hand into a fist, he growled out his resolve.

"Marluxia, you're going to pay for this."

"**There, done." JAM said. "Until next time, this is Janus-Juan signing out. Peace." Then the monitor turned to black. **


	12. Unwilling Cooperation

"**Ugh, finally done." JAM said as he put down his pencil. **

"**Took you long enough." Sora said as he sighed in exasperation. **

"**I'm sorry, but I haven't had much time to write out this chapter. What with working on my other projects and I couldn't work on my computer much with my dad telling me to get out more." JAM explained. "I'm sad to say it'll be a while until I can write the next chapter." **

"**And why's that?" Kairi asked. **

"**I have to work on this summer assignment for AP Language that's due on the first day of school." **

"**And when's that?" Sora asked.**

"**August 22****nd****. Man time sure flies." **

"**Alright, to get this chapter started, I'll do the Disclaimer." Ven started. "JAM doesn't own characters, but the plot is his."**

"**Thank you, now let's begin!" **

**Chapter 12: Unwilling Cooperation**

A haunting object stood in the middle of a pitch-black room; shape obscured by the shadows of the room. Just then, a swirling vortex of darkness appeared right next to the giant object and from inside, a lone figure stepped out. He was covered head to toe in a black cloak, hood hiding the person's face.

"Looks like things are going according to plan." The man spoke to himself while placing his right arm on the thing. When he did, the object began to illuminate, finally showing what the giant object was.

It was a 10-foot tall red rose that reached to the ceiling, roots breaching the barrier of the floor and with its petals still closed in on itself. It had three large bulbs whose petals were wrapped together to the prizes inside. The light that filled the room originated from the roots and made its way up towards the petals. The most interesting part was what was inside of the flower.

Three young women were placed in suspended animation inside each of the bulbs; their bodies surrounded by a sticky liquid that fed them a strange substance. They looked to be in a peaceful state of sleep, but would soon have to fall into the mysterious guy's plans.

"Soon, you'll be ready to defeat the intruders." The guy said before disappearing through another Corridor of Darkness, leaving behind his most diabolical creation.

**/**

"Sora, you've got to calm down!" Riku told his best friend, using his hands as a means to hold Sora in place. Surprisingly, Riku had to resort to digging his heels into the floor to stop Sora's advances. For a shorter guy, Sora was pretty dang strong when he was angry.

"Let me go Riku, or else I'll make you." Sora's tone was dark as he was getting very impatient with how long they were all taking. Riku flinched for a second but didn't relent.

Roxas was in the same boat as it took both Donald and Goofy to hold him back; Donald pulling him back and Goofy pushing him back. He managed to drag the two anthropomorphic animals along with him as he headed towards the staircase that led to the final floor. Looking down at his companions, he glared before muttering one single word that made them stop their actions.

"Move." Roxas growled out. Donald and Goofy shivered at the teen's tone of anger and frustration and let go of the blonde's body.

Enough was enough for Sora as his hands constricted into fists; his knuckles turning stark white. A second later, a white light covered his right hand and _Ultima Weapon_ appeared. Riku gasped as he felt the blade's tip apply pressure to his neck.

Having no choice, Riku dropped his arms from Sora's shoulders and pulled away to the side. Sora took the initiative to unsummon his weapon before walking towards the stairs. He and Roxas walked side-by-side like men on a mission.

Sora was about halfway up the staircase when he felt it; hish brain pounding against his skull. Clenching his teeth together, Sora chose to push the pain aside. His resolve was too much for him to give it up for a lousy ringing in his head. Turning his head to Roxas, he saw that his Nobody hadn't noticed anything and looked perfectly healthy. In fact, he looked even stronger than he did before.

As they disappeared from view, the Disney gang walked up to stand next to Riku. Every single one of them was a bit nervous for their companions.

"What do we do now?" Donald asked.

"We follow them, of course." Mickey told them before he and Riku followed after the two angry teenagers.

After a moment of hesitation, Donald and Goofy shook it away before they too went towards the final floor of the castle.

**/**

The thirteenth floor of Castle Oblivion was similar to the rest; being as pearl white and as barren as all the other rooms in the fortress. The only difference was the large door at the far end of the room. Two years ago, Sora had locked the confines of that room away with his Keyblade, not knowing that it was actually the way into the Chamber of Waking.

But that didn't matter to either Sora or Roxas at the moment as they stood at the center of the room. Looking around, Roxas quickly grew irritated at the absence of a certain pink-haired Nobody.

"Marluxia! We know you're in here!" Roxas yelled out.

"Yeah! Give us our friends back!" Sora spoke to the empty confines of the room. As a response, both teens heard a malicious chuckle coming from everywhere at once.

"So, you've finally come?" They heard a man's voice leering down on them.

"Show yourself, you coward!" Sora told him. At this moment in time, the rest of the party appeared from the doorway behind them.

"Very well." They heard the voice say.

Suddenly, a ripple of darkness rose from the ground in front of them. As it appeared, the heroes summoned their weapons and got them at the ready. Once they did, a tall hooded man stepped from within the swirling vortex. When his whole body left the confines of the darkness, the portal vanished. Putting his hands up to the fabric of his hood, the man pulled it down to reveal long tresses of pink hair and an evil smirk placed upon his face.

"Marluxia." Sora and Roxas growled out his name with as much poison as they could, grips strengthening on their weapons.

"Ah, it seems I've angered the Keyblade Wielders. What was it I did again?" Now he was just toying with them.

"You know what you did! Where are our friends?" Sora moved his head around the room, as if looking to see if the missing few were somewhere around.

"Oh, it's a reunion you seek? Well, then allow me to lend a hand." Marluxia said as a rose petal appeared above his head. Raising his hand up, he caught the single petal on his outstretched palm. Almost immediately, the petal multiplied into hundreds of petals to form the shape of the pink-haired man's weapon. The handle of the Scythe was a pastel green color, and the blade a rose pink. It evoked the appearance of a plucked flower. The handle and blade were connected by a yellow object that resembled the Organization logo.

Riku tightened his grip on _Way to Dawn_, getting himself ready to jump in and help his friends out. Before he could move forward, Marluxia turned his gaze to him and smirked.

"Ah, ah, ah. I'm not your opponent at the moment." At everyone's questioning glances, Marluxia elaborated with actions rather than words.

He moved _Graceful Dahlia _so that it was right in front of him. Pushing on the handle of his weapon, Marluxia hit the ground with the bottom of the scythe, creating a booming sound. The room began to shake and rumble the second he did, making stumble from their spots. Donald and Goofy were the only two to lose their balance and fell on their bottoms.

"What's going on?" Riku yelled out.

"Keep your guard up, everyone." Mickey told instructed. They nodded at the mouse king as they turned to look at Marluxia. Suddenly a giant bulb sprouted from the ground, breaking right through the floor with deadly force. The stem of the flower seemed to go all the way to the basement levels. The leaves and vines of the flower glued upon the farthest wall and door. They were trapped inside the room as the exits were blocked by the greenery.

"What is that?" Donald asked.

Marluxia smirked at the question. "This? This is the means of your destruction." Just as he said this the three rose buds descended to where they hovered an inch off the ground. They'd begun to glow when the petals twisted themselves open. The things that came out of them shocked the heroes to the very core.

There, covered in a liquid of some kind, their missing companions sat on the ground, legs limp, with their heads facing downwards.

"Kairi!" Sora screamed and ran over to the unconscious red-head, ridding himself of his Keyblade in the process. Riku felt a strong dark presence coming from the giant rose creature that seemed to flow into the girls.

"Sora, wait!" Riku yelled for his friend to stop but it was already too late. Sora was right in front of Kairi now, touching her hair delicately to see if she was alright. He turned around to give his best friend a confused look.

"What's wrong, Riku?" Sora asked but froze as he heard the slashing of air coming from behind him. He was quick enough to duck as a sword slashed at the spot where his neck had been a second before.

Sora rolled away from his attacker before summoning his own weapon into existence. He turned around, ready to slice someone to pieces when he saw who his attacker was. He gasped as he saw Kairi's form rise from her position, _Destiny's Embrace_ in her right hand. Looking her in the eyes, he noticed that she had a blank look in them as her pupils were dilated. Around her, Aqua and Naminé stood up as well, same looks in their eyes.

"Kairi? What are you doing?" Sora asked as he dodged another attack to his midsection. As she was about to strike again, Sora brought up his own Keyblade to block it. "Stop it!" He screamed. He didn't want to risk her getting hurt.

Aqua ran forward and went after her prey: Donald and Goofy. Donald shot a small block of ice at the blue-haired maiden, trying to stop her without causing her too much damage. The magical attack was too weak and so Aqua used _Stormfall_ to break right through the ice cube. She used a **Sliding Dash** and caught up to the tiny duck. She brought down her weapon on top of his feathered head, but before she got land a hit, Goofy moved his shield to block her attack. The sturdiness of his weapon caused a small shockwave to go up her arm and she jumped back as if struck.

She's had enough of these two animals and so decided on incapacitated them. She used a spell and disappeared before their eyes. Donald and Goofy looked around to try and find her, becoming slightly nervous at not being able to see their foe. As they were confused, Aqua broke the concealing spell and appeared right behind them. She raised her Keyblade high up into the air and used her **Deep Freeze** attack on the unsuspecting duo. They felt a shiver go up their spine before they could feel no more as giant icebergs surrounded their bodies, encasing them in a frozen prison.

Making sure they were unable to move, Aqua turned her sights on the rest of the party. Riku and Mickey were already running over to her and she smirked as she found her next prey.

"Naminé, calm down!" Roxas begged the blonde girl. Both blondes had already summoned their respective weapons and were locked in combat; one trying to stop the other from taking off his head. Naminé was currently applying pressure on her blade to break through Roxas's block.

Naminé seemed to be ignoring him as she pulled _Déjà Vu_ back before driving it forward once again. The action was so unexpected that Roxas was unable to stop it fast enough. The blade caused a rip on the edge of his shirt, showing some pale white skin, but it luckily didn't hurt him.

From her spot, Naminé raised her free hand in front of her and muttered some words under her breath. Flames surrounded her palm as a ball of fire appeared in her grip. She didn't hold it for long as she shot that puppy right at Roxas. The ball hit him right where the hole was and Roxas grunted in pain as his skin and surrounding cloth burned under the intensity of the flame. Roxas thought quickly and encased his hand in ice before moving it over the fire. The flame caused the ice to melt and the excess water fell over the fire, putting it out. He then used a **Cure **spell over the burn and watched as light green tendrils returned his skin back to how it was before the attack. Surprisingly, the broken cloth stitched itself back together at the seams, fixing the shirt.

"This is impossible!" Sora yelled as he dodged another downward strike from _Destiny's Embrace_. He then used a **Blizzard** spell to freeze the ground below Kairi's feet, causing her to fall on her butt. Sora then tried to go after Marluxia. But just as he was a couple of feet from him, Kairi appeared out of nowhere and pushed him back.

"You got that right." Roxas agreed. He then swung at hard on Naminé's Keyblade and the force caused her to drop her weapon to the ground. As it skidded across the ground towards the wall and Naminé went after it, Roxas shot a **Fire** spell of his own at Marluxia. He wasn't surprised to see Naminé appearing in front of the attack, using the blunt side of the Keyblade to deflect the attack.

"Why don't we just cut the stems?" Sora suggested and was about to use _Kingdom Key_ to destroy the plant part that was attached to Kairi's back when Marluxia's voice stopped him.

"I wouldn't advise that." He told them.

"And why not?" Roxas asked.

"If you forcefully unhook them from the plant, then the shock of the separation would be so great that they would go into cardiac arrest." He said calmly. "And if you try to destroy the plant, then they will go down with it."

Sora and Roxas growled lowly as they had no other choice but to continue their evasive maneuvers.

Mickey and Riku weren't dealing any better against Aqua. She was truly a Mistress of Magic as she demonstrated her magical prowess. She moved her arm horizontally from right to left and sent a wave of fire spiraling at the two. It seemed to grow in size as it got closer and closer, but it was really slow, giving them time to block and deflect the attack. Aqua must've anticipated this as she suddenly appeared behind them both.

Aqua pointed her Keyblade up in the air and a circle of electricity surrounded her foes. The circle served as a barrier, causing Riku and Mickey to remain stuck where they were to face the true power of the attack. Large bolts of Lightning rained down upon their heads and they took a whopping amount of damage as the **Thundaga** spell finished.

They could still feel the aftershocks of the attack and tried their best to shake away the feeling. As Aqua moved to slice off Riku's head, he jumped backwards to keep some distance between them. Mickey then came barreling in and shot a **Pearl** attack at Aqua. She let out a mild groan as she took the attack head on. She then scrunched her eyebrows down to give them a glare, which was weird considering her dilated eyes.

Aqua then stopped moving for a moment and her body was surrounded by a white aura. This confused Riku but Mickey gulped as he understood what the girl was about to do.

"Riku, we've got to move, now!" Mickey instructed the silver-haired teen.

"Why?" Riku asked.

"Because constant motion is the best way of avoiding her Shotlock attack." Mickey explained and then proceeded to run around like crazy. Riku had no choice but to follow his example.

And just in time too as Aqua stopped concentrating and started performing some graceful spins in her spot. As she did, she fired beams of Light at her opponents. Because they were moving, the beams followed after them but as soon as they got close, the things exploded in the air before it reached them. This kept going on for a while until the last attack hit its mark as Mickey was blown backwards into a wall.

"Mickey!" Riku yelled out for his friend to say if he was okay or not, but the mouse king didn't respond. Seeing Aqua's hypnotized body heading towards his friend, Riku started seeing red. "Oh no you don't!" Riku screamed out and managed to capture the girl's attention.

Riku's body was surrounded by a grayish aura as he channeled Dark energy onto himself. He then levitated into the air and held _Way to Dawn_ in both of his hands. He then rushed Aqua at a speed so fast that she was unable to defend herself as he sliced at her stomach. A second later he created a shallow gash at her lower back and then proceeded to hit her in the side. Finally, he appeared above her head and dove down, stabbing the ground in front of her, creating a circle of Light energy that caused her to lose her balance as she got hit.

Riku took the opportunity to check up on King Mickey. "You're Majesty, are you okay?" Riku asked him as he shook the giant mouse king.

Mickey shook his head to get rid of the headache he got from the crash. He then turned to Riku and gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, Riku." Seeing something in his peripheral vision, Mickey turned his attention to Aqua, to see her getting into a battle stance. "But we won't be for long, unless we do something." Mickey said.

"You're right, Mickey." Riku nodded and then got into his own battle stance. "We'll do this together!" Riku yelled out as he ran over to keep the fight going.

Mickey chuckled before responding. "I'm right behind you." He said before following his friend's lead.

Meanwhile with Sora and Roxas, both teens were trying their best against the women they loved, but it was difficult to do so. They refused to use any of the openings the girls had while fighting and resorted to dodging and running away.

"What do we do?" Sora said as he deflected another blow to the head from Kairi. Using all his might, Sora pushed hard on his weapon and caused Kairi to fall onto the floor. Sora followed his strategy by jumping backwards, away from the red-head.

"I don't know, but this is starting to get on my nerves." Roxas replied as he used another **Reflect** spell to block Naminé's **Firaga** spell. She was getting good at using such high level spells; a little too good.

"Why don't you guys switch partners?" Riku yelled while slashing at Aqua from behind, only to have her turn around and throw a **Blizzaga** spell at him. The impact of the spell caused him to skid backwards on the ground, head down. As he placed his left hand on his chest, Riku looked up and smirked at Aqua. "Gotcha." He muttered.

Suddenly, Mickey jumped high in the air and dove down towards Aqua's back. Since she was preoccupied with Riku, Mickey was able to catch her by surprise and use a **Pearl **attack, effectively depleting her health. She knelt down on the ground at taking the hit at such a range.

Sora and Roxas stared at one another, silently asking the other if it was okay to do such a thing. After a moment, they both nodded simultaneously and switched places.

Roxas made the first move. He ran at Kairi as fast as he could and they both met in the middle, blades creating sparks as they tried to get the other one to lose their little struggle. "Sorry about this, Kairi." Roxas said before summoning his other Keyblade, _Oblivion_, and used it to push her back. She stumbled a bit as she tried to regain her balance.

When she did, Kairi bent her knees a bit and started to glow a white aura. Roxas was surprised at what she was doing but got both of his Keyblades ready to counter-attack. When she had gathered enough energy, Kairi jumped into the air and swung her Keyblade up, unleashing her newest move: **Salvation**. The surrounding area was hit with columns of Light that hit Roxas, while creating a curtain of smoke, and healed Kairi a smidge.

As the smoke started to clear, Roxas could be seen walking out of the smoke screen, not a scratch on him. "Did you honestly think that was going to hurt me?" Roxas asked as he got into his dual-wielding battle stance. "Well, you were wrong." He said before running forward and bringing down _Oathkeeper_ onto _Destiny's Embrace_.

Both weapons hit with a resounding clang and before Kairi could move, Roxas brought back _Oathkeeper_ and hit the flowery Keyblade with _Oblivion_. He then kept this going, interchanging one weapon for the other, in rapid succession, until Kairi knelt down on one knee; the strain having finally gotten to her.

When she did, he moved back a bit and used his Keyblades to shoot beams of Light of his own at the red-head. He knew the attacks wouldn't do much damage, but who said they were going to be used to hurt her.

As the beams of Light got closer and closer, Kairi stood up from her position, getting ready to block the attack. But before they reached her, both beams dispersed in different directions, trapping her in a circle of Light. The startled girl followed them with her eyes, but it was meaningless as they came down and latched themselves on her wrist.

When the beams touched her wrists, they were transformed into two cuffs made out of pure light. The cuffs seemed to control her hand movements and caused them to slowly, but surely, move closer and closer to one another. Once they were close enough, chains appeared from the each cuff and bonded them together, while creating ankle cuffs and chains at the same time. A larger chain materialized and hooked the cuffs on her wrists with the ones on her ankles. She fell down as she tripped on the chains.

While struggling to get out of her chains, Roxas walked over to her and knelt down beside her. "I'm sorry about this, but it's the only way stop you without hurting you." He told her before something unexpected happened.

As she kept on struggling, her breathing started to pick up to an alarming rate. Her whole body shook uncontrollably all of a sudden and she started to sweat like crazy. Her efforts against the chains stopped abruptly as her eyes closed and she delved into her subconscious, making her go limp. Just as she did, the stem that was attached to her dislodged itself and returned back inside the plant. Right before her head hit the ground, Roxas managed to catch her.

"Kairi!" He heard Sora yell out but was stopped from going to see her by Naminé, who attacked with a downwards slash. Sora was able to block it but was driven back and farther away from Kairi.

Roxas was in a state of panic as he looked down at the unconscious Princess of Heart. He raised his left hand in the air and dispersed the chains. When they were gone, Kairi's body started to shiver once again. Having a hunch, Roxas put his left hand on her forehead and retracted it quickly as it was dangerously hot.

"It seems the Princess of Heart isn't doing so good." Marluxia noted, causing Roxas to glare at him.

"What did you do to her?" He yelled at him as he asked. The question caused Marluxia to let out a dark chuckle.

"You actually think I had anything to do with it?" Marluxia smirked but it disappeared as he saw Roxas's glare still on his face. Sighing, Marluxia continued. "Well, if you must know, that girl has been suffering the effects of Drain since she stepped foot on the previous floor. And as this girl gets weaker, that girl gets stronger" He explained before turning his gaze to Naminé.

"You're saying this is Naminé's fault?" It seems Marluxia hit a nerve as Roxas's anger spiked to new heights.

"Not intentionally, no." Marluxia said and then looked over at Sora. "But he's suffering the exact same effects. It seems that you are draining him dry." Marluxia noted with a blank face.

Taking in the bit of news, Roxas finally understood what was happening; why he was getting stronger. Looking down at the pendant around his neck, he noticed that the Crown was slowly becoming full. Kairi's, on the other hand, was starting to disappear completely as dark flames started engulfing it. Looking over to his Other, he saw that Sora was starting grow tired and worn out.

"Guys! I need your help over here!" Roxas tried to grab his allies' attentions, but they were all busy with their foes.

"Can't right now." Riku said as he blocked a downward swing from Aqua's Keyblade, and then proceeded pushing her aside. "Man, there's got to be a way to separate her from that thing." Riku said before going back into the fight.

That sparked something in Roxas as he looked down at Kairi. Because of his earlier worrying, he failed to notice that the root that bound her to the rose had dislodged itself from her body. He could see the shriveled remains of the aforementioned root.

_It must've fallen off her when she fell unconscious_ Roxas thought and then came up with an idea. He stood up from his spot and cast a **Curaga** spell on Kairi. The small tremors ceased and her breathing began to return to normal. Making sure she was feeling better, Roxas ran over to the others.

"Guys! I know how to separate the plant from the girls!" Roxas tried getting their attention.

"How?" Riku asked, grunting as he failed to notice Aqua's horizontal slash on his side, lodging itself inside the wound. He pushed the pain aside as he pulled the teeth of the weapon away from his body, hissing a bit as he did so.

"You've got to knock them out!" Roxas explained.

"That shouldn't be so hard." Riku commented as he threw _Stormfall_ back at its owner.

As she tried to catch it, Riku managed to sneak up behind her and used the palm of his hand to hit her in the pressure point on her neck. Her body fell limp as her consciousness was taken from her, Keyblade disappearing as well. The moment she was knocked out, the plant on her back plucked itself off her body and shriveled away, dead.

"Two down, one more to go." Riku said as he turned his attention over to Naminé.

"It seems you have found the plant's weakness." Marluxia told the heroes before turning his attention over to the blonde. "Naminé, do what you were born to do." He said as he smirked.

Naminé hears the command and jumps back, away from the brunet. She then slacked the grip on her weapon and the spectators watched as it disappeared in a flurry of lights and something else appears. In place of the Keyblade, a red sketchpad was gripped tightly in her left hand while a pencil was gripped by her right one.

"Oh no!" Riku exclaimed as he understood the implications of Marluxia's orders and tried in vain to warn the others. "Stop her before she—"He didn't get to finish as Naminé's hand worked furiously on the blank page she had opened the sketchpad to.

A second later, everyone felt a headache forming in their skulls. But that wasn't the worst of it. Sora fell down on his knees and grabbed a hold of his head between his hands and screamed in pain as Naminé's powers took their toll. The screaming soon stopped, causing the others to become confused. Cautiously, they craned their heads over to see Sora slowly standing up from his position. Because his back was to them, they couldn't see the expression the brunet was sporting.

Their confusion quickly turned to shock as Sora jumped into the air and went to attack Riku. The silver-haired teen barely had time to block the downward swing before Sora moved back a step and hit Riku with an uppercut attack.

The blow sent Riku spiraling backwards onto the ground. Before Sora could follow-up on his attack, Roxas jumped in the way and took Sora's attention away from Riku, using both of his Keyblades to move them away from the injured teen.

"Mickey, you've got to stop Naminé before things get way too out of hand!" Roxas instructed the Mouse King. "And if it did, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself."

Mickey nodded his head and went started running over to the blonde Nobody. Naminé saw him coming and her hand moved over the sketchpad in response. A second later, large vines exploded from the ground and started to attack Mickey. The large mouse dodged and moved out of the way of the attacking plants, but was unable to maneuver around them all and was grabbed by the foot and lifted high into the air.

It seemed Roxas was doing better as he managed to keep the brunet haired teen in check. Sora was aware that he was losing and so tapped inside himself and brought about his secret weapon.

"Give me strength!" Sora yelled out and was surrounded by a blast of Light. Over in the corner, Donald and Goofy had disappeared from their icy prisons to help Sora enter his Final Form drive. Sora's clothing changed from the mismatching colors to a black and white outfit and the _Kingdom Key_ and _Ultima Weapon_ levitated around his body as he used his mind to control his weapons.

"Shit." Roxas grumbled as Sora's power levels increased drastically and was forced back by the force of Sora's attacks.

As he blocked the two Keyblades, Sora used his unoccupied hands to cast a **Fira** spell and throw it at Roxas. The blond was tied up at the moment and couldn't defend himself against the magic attack. Before it hit Roxas, however, a large chunk of ice collided with the ball of fire, causing it to disappear. Both boys turned around to see Riku was the one who had cast the spell and saved Roxas's life.

"I thought you could use some help." Riku explained as he got into his battle stance.

"I'd appreciate it." Roxas responded as he pushed against Sora's Keyblades, stopping them from hurting him.

As he kept on pushing, Roxas suddenly felt a rush of energy entering his system. He looked at his Other and saw the unmistakable look of strain upon the brunet's face. Taking his chance, Roxas used his increase in strength and threw the floating Keyblades away, making them go high up in the air.

With Sora's weapons out of commission, Roxas had a clear shot at an attack. Regaining the grip on his weapons, Roxas produced a horizontal strike with _Oblivion_ and used the teeth on the weapon to wound the brunet Keybearer, causing Sora to apply pressure on the wound and for his breathing to get shallow.

Roxas moved over to where Riku was and got into his dual-wielding stance once again. "We need to stop him before he exhausts himself." Roxas told Riku.

"So, we knock him out?" Riku grinned as he asked.

"Oh yeah." Roxas answered and grinned as well.

A second later, both teens bolted away from each other to cause confusion on the brunet teen. While Sora was busy moving his head between the two, Riku sent a **Dark Firaga** spell at him. Sora was quick to block the black fireball, but was unable to stop the beam of Light his Nobody had sent his way. The attack hit him straight on his back and caused him to almost lose his balance. Righting himself, Sora understood that even if he could defend himself against one of them, the other would land an attack. So, he hatched a plan.

Using the telepathic link with his Keyblades, he commanded them to encircle him at supernatural speeds. At the rate they were going, the Keyblades produced a giant cyclone around Sora's body, hiding him from view.

Roxas and Riku couldn't see where their target was and couldn't make heads or tails out of the situation. They didn't anticipate what happened next, either. While the cyclone grew larger and larger, the _Kingdom Key _and _Ultima Weapon_ crashed through the strong winds and attacked Roxas and Riku respectively.

"Finish him off!" Marluxia instructed of Naminé.

She nodded and motioned the vines to swing Mickey towards a nearby wall. The impact caused a dent in the wall and made Mickey grunt in pain. The vine never let go of his leg and then crashed him into the intersecting wall. Finally, the vine reeled back its captive and slammed him face-down on the ground. By then, Mickey's eyes had gone shut, showing that he had lost consciousness.

To make sure he was unconscious, the blonde ordered the vine to move Mickey over to her. A second later, the limp body of King Mickey Mouse was dangling in midair in front of her. Cautiously, Naminé inched her head closer and closer to the king's. The moment they were face-to-face, Mickey's eyes burst open and his Keyblade was re-summoned.

"Gotcha!" He said as he activated one of the first spells he was taught by his master: **Sleep**.

Wisps of grey clouds shot out from his Keyblade in a large circle and she was hit point blank. Upon hearing the soothing sounds of sheep invading her ear drums, a sudden feeling of tiredness shot through her. She tried fighting against the urge to sleep, but it was useless and she fell down and drifted off to dreamland.

The moment she lost consciousness, the vine holding his leg let go and he crashed onto the ground on his head. It was lucky for him that he was only 5 feet off the ground. All around him the large vines that had attacked him wilted away and transformed into dust, blown away by the wind.

With the Sora situation, the brunet was finally pinned to the floor by both Riku and Roxas, who had a difficult time against their struggling hostage. The struggling ceased the second Naminé hit the ground and they both looked down to see a very confused Sora staring up at them.

"Uh, guys, why are you pinning me down?" Sora asked. "And why do I feel like I've been hit by a train?" His body felt sore and he could feel some sticky residue on his side.

Making sure that Sora was back to his usual self, Riku and Roxas dropped their grips on Sora's arms and stood up a foot or so away from the brunet. Once free, Sora sat up slowly in his spot, groaning as he moved his aching muscles.

Seeing their friend's obvious discomfort, Riku cast a **Cure **spell to help alleviate the pain. He felt guilty that he couldn't conjure up a stronger spell like **Cura**, but he was pretty drained from the previous fight. Roxas, on the other hand, closed a fist around his Crown Necklace and disappeared into a blue light, the same blue light that engulfed Sora.

Feeling his energy returning, Sora was able to stand up without any nausea. Riku told him to take it easy, but Sora just waved off his friend's concern and got into his battle stance, _Kingdom Key _in hand.

"There's no time to rest. We need to take down Marluxia." Sora told Riku, who nodded in defeat.

"Alright, but you better not slow me down." Riku smirked as he got into his own battle stance.

"Me? I should be telling you that." Sora returned.

"Such arrogance." Marluxia started as he raised his scythe in front of him. "You had just endured injuries that would usually cause a grown man to pass out, yet you still persevere?" Marluxia was getting really angry now, weapon glowing an eerie pink hue. A cyclone of rose petals surrounded the pink-haired man and the giant rose monster, shielding them from view.

When the tornado died down, all that remained was the giant rose creature. The connected vines had grown thrones and the bulb had changed from red to a dark pink color, with the roots having grown a tremendous amount, surrounding Sora and Riku in a jungle of plants. They were now blocked away from their allies and had to face their opponent alone.

"What? Where's Marluxia?" Sora asked as he looked around to see if the man was hiding from view. The question earned them a booming laugh coming from everwhere at once.

"Fools, I am Marluxia!" The bulb revealed, glowing with every word uttered. Two vines rose up and snapped the floor in front of Sora and Riku, acting like twin whips. "I am now stronger than ever before! You'll never defeat me!" Marluxia boasted as the room grew dark.

"**There, the chapter is finally done!" JAM said as he fell back on the soft couch. **

"**Yeah, finally." Terra said, rolling his eyes. **

"**Don't push me!" JAM screamed at him, but his angry demeanor disappeared as he looked at the television. "Anyway, hope you liked it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Again, sorry it took so long."**

"**Don't forget to R&R." Aqua told everyone. **


End file.
